Spanish Adjectives
Like English, Spanish adjectives are describing words.
It adds a description to a noun
(a person, thing or thing).
amplio = wide
sano = healthy
azul = blueSpanish adjectives change according to the gender and quantity of the nouns they are describing.
Masculine nouns...
- Take an adjective with a masculine ending, usually
-o.
- Add an
-s in the plural.
el coche negro
the black carlos coches negros
the black cars
Feminine nouns ...
- Take an adjective with a feminine ending, usually
-a.
- Add an -s in the plural.
la casa negra the black houselas casas negras the black houses
Spanish adjectives with other endings don't change in the feminine, so can be used for both genders.
verde greenazul bluePlurals
The plurals of Spanish adjectives are formed as follows:For Spanish adjectives ending in an unstressed vowel:
add -s in the pluralla casa verde the green houselas casas verdesthe green houses
For Spanish adjectives ending in a consonant or stressed vowel:
add -es in the plural
la casa azul
the blue house
las casas azules
the blue houses
Exception:
Spanish adjectives which describe nationality DO change in the feminine, regardless of ending:
el hombre ingles the English man
la mujer inglesa the English woman
los hombres ingleses
the English men
las mujeres inglesas
the English women
When a Spanish adjective describes two nouns, one feminine and one masculine, the masculine plural form is used.
La casa y el coche son rojos.The house and the car are red.Where do you put them?
Spanish adjectives normally follow the noun they are describing:
La manzana verde the green apple
un libro dificíl a difficult bookHowever, Spanish adjectives can sometimes be used before a noun, when they describe something intrinsic or given.
la blanca nieve the white snow
el primer hijo the first son/childBe aware of the following anomalies when Spanish adjectives are placed before the noun:
Some male singular adjectives drop the final –o:
| bueno | good | un buen hombre | a good man |
| malo | bad | un mal hombre | a bad man |
| uno | one | un año | one year |
primero | first | el primer hijo | the first child/son | | tercero | third | el tercer coche | the third car |
While some Spanish adjectives drop the –o and add an accent:
alguno some, any - algún dinero some money
ninguno no, none - ningún dinero no moneyciento 100 drops the –o before masculine or feminine plural nouns:
cien años 100 yearsgrande changes to gran before either a feminine or masculine noun.
el gran opera the great opera
la gran mujer the great woman
And careful!
Some Spanish adjectives change their meaning depending on where they are placed - before or after the noun:
| Spanish adjective | before noun | after noun |
|---|
| antiguo | old – former | old - ancient |
| algún/alguno | some | any at all |
| bajo | low, vile | low, short |
| caro | dear, beloved | dear, expensive |
| cierto | certain | sure, definite |
| dichoso | disagreeable, annoying | lucky, fortunate |
| grande, gran | great | large (size) |
| medio | half | average |
| mismo/misma | same, very | him/herself |
| nuevo | new, another | new, brand new |
| pobre | unfortunate | poor (no money) |
| proprio | own | proper, suitable |
| pura | sheer | pure |
| raro | rare (few) | strange, odd |
| único | only | unique |
| viejo | old (long-time) | old (age) |
ser and estar - to be, in Spanish
You can also use an adjective with the verbs, ser and estar
El libro es grande. The book is big (permanently).
La chica está delgada. The girl is slim (temporarily).
ser + adjective / estar + adjective
Some Spanish adjectives can also change in meaning, depending on whether ser (to indicate a permanent state) or estar (to express a temporary condition) is used. For example:
| Adjective | with ser | with estar | | listo | es listo - he’s clever | está listo – he’s ready |
| alegre | es alegre – she's happy (by nature) | está alegre – she's happy (mood) |
| cierto | es cierto – it's true | está cierto – he's certain, assured |
Note: es/está = he/she/it is
We hope that you enjoyed your free Spanish Adjectives Lesson.For more free Spanish grammar lessons, click on the link below.
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