Adjectives are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. There are different types of adjectives that indicate possession, demonstrate distance, and make comparisons. You must remember how to create the appropriate form of an adjective to match the number and gender of the noun it describes and how to place the adjective correctly in a sentence. A Spanish adjective often follows the noun it modifies (describes), but there are some circumstances in Spanish sentences in which the adjective must be placed before the noun.
Correct gender
In vocabulary lists and in dictionaries, adjectives are always listed in the singular masculine form. In this form, most adjectives end in -o, but there are a few that end in -e or a consonant.
If an adjective ends in -o in its singular masculine form, the final -o will change to -a when it is used to describe a feminine noun. In the examples below, the definite article is included to remind you of the gender of the noun; you must know the gender of the noun in order to use the adjective correctly.
| el novio guapo | the attractive boyfriend | | la novia guapa | the attractive girlfriend | | el coche blanco | the white car | | la casa blanca | the white house | | el libro divertido | the amusing book | | la novela divertida | the amusing novel | |
Many commonly used adjectives end in -e. Adjectives that end in -e do not change endings for feminine nouns.
| el tío inteligente | the intelligent uncle | | la tía inteligente | the intelligent aunt | | el estadio enorme | the enormous stadium | | la montaña enorme | the enormous mountain | | la realidad triste | the sad reality | | el cuento triste | the sad story | |
Adjectives that end in a consonant do not change endings to indicate gender.
| el cantante popular | the popular singer | | la música popular | popular music | | el dilema difícil | the difficult dilemma | | la situación difícil | the difficult situation | | el cielo azul | the blue sky | | la camisa azul | the blue shirt | |
The exceptions to the above rule are adjectives of nationality. Adjectives of nationality that end in - o behave like any other adjective: The -o changes to -a if the adjective describes a feminine noun. Notice in the examples below that you need not capitalize Spanish adjectives of nationality.
| el hombre mexicano | the Mexican man | | la mujer mexicana | the Mexican woman | | el muchacho cubano | the Cuban boy | | la muchacha cubana | the Cuban girl | |
Adjectives of nationality that end in -e also behave like other adjectives, except that the same form is used for both masculine and feminine nouns.
| el padre costarricense | the Costa Rican father | | la madre costarricense | the Costa Rican mother | | el lago canadiense | the Canadian lake | | la carretera canadiense | the Canadian highway | |
Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant follow specific rules. Unlike other adjectives, you must add the letter a after the consonant at the end of an adjective of nationality in order to use it with a feminine noun.
| el edificio español | the Spanish building | | la oficina española | the Spanish office | |
Adding a syllable to the end of a word alters where the stress of the word naturally falls. If an adjective of nationality has an accent mark on the last syllable, the accent mark will disappear when you add -a to the feminine form.
| el actor inglés | the English actor | | la actriz inglesa | the English actress | | el río japonés | the Japanese river | | la ciudad japonesa | the Japanese city | | el dulce francés | the French candy | | la comida francesa | the French food | |
Using the plural forms of adjectives
When a noun is plural, any adjective that modifies it must also be in a plural form. In addition, the definite article el becomes los and la becomes las when the noun is plural. The plural forms of adjectives are created the same way as the plural forms of nouns.
If an adjective ends in a vowel, add -s to make it plural.
| los árboles verdes | the green trees | | las hierbas verdes | the green grass | | los pueblos blancos | the white villages | | las montañas blancas | the white mountains | |
If an adjective ends in a consonant, add -es to make it plural.
| los dilemas difíciles | difficult dilemmas | | las situaciones difíciles | difficult situations | | los jóvenes populares | the popular teenagers | | las animadoras populares | the popular cheerleaders | |
When you add -es to pluralize, remember that “ z changes to c when followed by e.”
| el señor andaluz | the Andalusian gentleman | | los señores andaluces | the Andalusian gentlemen | |
Placement of adjectives in a sentence
In a Spanish sentence, an adjective is generally placed after the noun it modifies, but some types of adjectives must be placed in front of a noun.
Adjectives that indicate quantity are placed in front of the nouns they quantify. This includes all numbers and any adjectives that indicate amount. Some common adjectives of quantity are listed below.
| mucho, mucha | much | | muchos, muchas | many | | poco | little, few | | bastante | enough | | suficiente | enough | | alguno, alguna, algunos, algunas | some | |
Apocopated is a grammatical term used to indicate that something is shortened. Some adjectives are called “apocopated” because their endings are cut short in specific circumstances. The adjectives listed below lose the final -o when immediately followed by a singular masculine noun. These adjectives are usually placed in front of a noun; you should drop the final - o of the adjective only if that noun is singular and masculine, as in the examples below.
| bueno | good | | la buena alumna | the good student (feminine) | | el buen alumno | the good student (masculine) | | malo | bad | | la mala escritora | the bad writer (feminine) | | el mal escritor | the bad writer (masculine) | | primero | first | | la primera nieta | the first granddaughter | | el primer nieto | the first grandson | | tercero | third | | la tercera reina | the third queen | | el tercer rey | the third king | | uno | one | | una abogada | one (a) lawyer (feminine) | | un abogado | one (a) lawyer (masculine) | | alguno | some | | alguna amiga | some friend (feminine) | | algún amigo | some friend (masculine) | |
Although the above adjectives drop the -o only in front of a singular masculine noun, one adjective is shortened in front of any singular noun: The adjective grande can be used in front of a noun or after it. It is unique because grande shortens to gran when placed before any singular noun, regardless of gender, and it has the meaning of “great.”
| el gran líder | the great leader | | la gran fachada | the great facade | |
When grande is placed after the noun, the full form is used and the meaning of the adjective changes to “large” rather than “great.”
| el piano grande | the large piano | | la ciudad grande | the large city | |
Certain other adjectives also change meaning depending on where they are placed in the sentence.
| el antiguo director | the former principal | | el director antiguo | the elderly principal | | la pobre mujer | the poor woman (unfortunate) | | la mujer pobre | the poor woman (impoverished) | | diferentes opiniones | various opinions | | opiniones diferentes | different opinions | | la nueva motocicleta | the new motorcycle (new to you) | | la motocicleta nueva | the brand-new motorcycle | |
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