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I'm a Korean High school student and I have a question regarding the use of adjectives. Is there a difference between saying '...the passage above' or '...the above passage?' I'm sure that both of them are grammatically correct, but I'm curious if the two have any - even the slightest - differences when seen in the eyes of a native speaker.

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    Very slight difference in tone - "the passage above" sounds slightly older in style and so slightly more formal, at least to me as an American.
    – outis nihil
    Apr 15, 2014 at 14:46

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'...the passage above' sounds better to me because you first define what it is you should be looking for (the passage) followed by where you can find it (above). Makes more sense to me than the reverse. I believe that I would use '...the passage above' in a sentence meant to call the reader's attention to a previous passage, whereas I would use '...the above passage' if the reader has already developed an understanding that the sentence is referring to a previous passage.

I am a native speaker.

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