Los
Adjetivos
An
adjective
(adjetivo) in Spanish
or in
English is a word used to describe a noun (like size, color,
shape...).
If you already have an idea about adjectives you can scroll down to the
Summary to refresh your memory or review the list of adjectives,
otherwise you can start with us from
here:
Basic
Rules:
An adjective agrees in gender
and number
with the noun it modifies.
Similar to nouns, an adjective usually ends in (~o) for masculine
(plural ~os), and
(~a) for feminine (plural ~as):
Spanish
Adjectives
|
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
masculine
|
blanco
|
blancos
|
alto
|
altos
|
|
feminine
|
blanca
|
blancas
|
alta
|
altas
|
|
For
Example:
-Un
hombre alto
(a tall
man)
-Unos
hombres altos
(tall men)
-Muchos
libros (many books)
-Una casa pequeña
(a small
house)
-Unas chicas peligrosas
(some dangerous
girls)
-Muchas
cosas (many
things)
Some
Irregularities:
There are also some adjectives whose
masculine
singular end in a
consonant
and form the
feminine by adding
-a:
-Un
amigo frances (a French friend - male-)
-Una
amiga francesa
(a French friend
-female-)
Some other adjectives ending in a consonant take the same
form for
both
masculine and
feminine:
-un chico joven
(a young boy)
-una chica joven
(a young
girl)
-unos
cantantes populares (some popular
singers)
-unas
canciones populares (some popular
songs)
Usually
descriptive
adjectives
follow the nouns they modify:
-una
ciudad
limpia
(a clean city).
Adjectives
can be
used as nouns,
in that
case they take a definite article:
-Los pobres
tienen muchos problemas. (Poor people have many problems.)
Adjectives
are
occasionally used adverbially:
-Jose vive feliz en su
granja. (Jose lives
happily in his farm.)
Spanish
vs. English Adjectives:
The tricky part is that Spanish
adjectives are
different from English adjectives.
In English, adjectives are
found before the
noun they modify,
while in Spanish usually
they're found after
the noun
they modify.
They are also different because, in Spanish, the adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
When
they precede
the noun,
such adjectives change
meaning,
acquiring a less literal sense:
-El mendigo es un hombre pobre.
(A
beggar is a poor man.)
-El pobre hombre tiene
muchos problemas (The
poor guy has many problems)
See how the position can
define the
meaning intended in the sentence.
The first “pobre” means someone who
doesn’t
have money, but the second “pobre” means someone
who
deserves pity, and it has nothing to do with money.
In
most cases adjectives precede
the nouns they modify whenever they:
- Express an essential quality:
la dulce miel (the sweet
honey)
las verdes hojas (the
green leaves)
- Point
out, limit
or quantify:
este perro (this dog)
su hija (his/ her daughter)
menos caliente (less hot)
tres manzanas (three
apples)
Basic
Rules:
So in short, these are some rules
to
follow about the Spanish adjectives:
Most Spanish adjectives
end in (-
o),
and in order to make them feminine, change the
o to an (-
a),
to make them plural,
add -
os
(plural
masculine); or -
as
(plural feminine).
When the adjective ends in (-
a)
or (-
e),
no
difference
will be made between the masculine and feminine form, and the
plural is created by adding (
–s).
- pobre (for both genders
in singular)
- pobres (for both genders in plural)
- egoísta (for both genders in singular)
- egoístas (for both genders in plural)
When an adjective
ends in any consonant except
r, or
z, there will
be
no
difference between the masculine and feminine forms, and the
plural
can be created by adding -
es.
- débil (for
both genders in singular)
- débiles (for both genders in plural).
When an adjective
ends with z,
no
difference will
be made to both genders in
singular,
but
in the
plural we have to switch
z
to
c and
then add the usual
-es.
- feliz (for both
genders in singular)
- felices
(for both genders in
plural)
When an adjective ends in
r,
the
feminine
is formed
by adding an (-
a), the
masculine plural
by adding -
es
and the
feminine
plural by adding -
as.
-
encantador (masc
singular)
- encantadora
(fem singular)
- encantadores
(masc
plural)
- encantadoras
(fem
plural)
Summary of
Spanish Adjectives:
This
is basically what
you need to remember about adjectives and the four forms they take:
Most Spanish adjectives
end in o.
To make them feminine, change the o to an a.
To make them plural, add -os
(plural masculine) or -as
(plural feminine).
Spanish
Adjectives
|
|
|
singular
|
plural
|
singular
|
plural
|
|
masculine
|
blanco
|
blancos
|
alto
|
altos
|
|
feminine
|
blanca
|
blancas
|
alta
|
altas
|
|
This
is a list of some adjectives
that you might
find useful:
|
List
of Adjectives in Spanish
|
ambitious
|
ambicioso
|
American
|
americano /
americana
|
annoying
|
pesado
|
argumentative
|
discutidor
|
bad
|
malo / mala
|
bad-tempered
|
malhumorado
|
beautiful
|
hermoso /
hermosa
|
big, large
|
grande
|
blonde
|
rubio / rubia
|
boring
|
aburrido
|
brave
|
valiente
|
brunette,
tanned skin
|
moreno
/ morena
|
carefree
|
despreocupado
|
careless
|
descuidado,
poco cuidadoso
|
cautious
|
prudente,
cauteloso,
cauto;
|
certain
|
cierto
|
charming
|
encantador
|
cheerful
|
alegre, jovial
|
Chinese
|
chino / china
|
comical, funny
|
cómico
|
conceited
|
presumido
|
conservative
|
conservador
|
conventional
|
convencional
|
coward
|
cobarde
|
crazy, nuts
|
loco, chiflado
|
cruel
|
cruel
|
difficult,
hard
|
difícil
|
disagreeable
|
antipático
|
dull, boring
|
soso, aburrido
|
easy
|
fácil
|
English
|
inglés
/
inglésa
|
fat
|
gordo / gorda
|
fearsome
|
temible
|
French
|
francés
/
francésa
|
frequent
|
frecuente
|
friendly
|
amigable,
agradable
|
fun, amusing
|
divertido
|
general
|
general
|
generous
|
generoso
|
German
|
alemán
/
alemána
|
good
|
bueno / buena
|
handsome
|
guapo / guapa
|
hard-working
|
trabajador
|
high, tall
|
alto / alta
|
honest
|
honesto
|
intelligent
|
inteligente
|
interesting
|
interesante
|
kind
|
amable
|
laid-back
|
tranquilo,
relajado
|
lazy
|
perezoso, vago
|
little, small
|
pequeño
/
pequeña
|
low, short
|
bajo / baja
|
loyal
|
fiel
|
mean
|
tacaño
|
modest
|
modesto
|
moody
|
de humor
cambiante
|
naive
|
ingenuo,
inocentón
|
narrow-minded
|
de mentalidad
cerrada,
intolerante
|
new
|
nuevo / nueva
|
nice (person)
|
simpático
/
simpática
|
old
|
viejo / vieja
|
open-minded
|
de actitud
abierta,
sin prejuicios
|
perfect
|
perfecto
|
personal
|
personal
|
pious
|
piadoso
|
polite
|
cortés,
educado
|
poor
|
pobre
|
possible
|
posible
|
pretty
|
bonito/ bonita
|
professional
|
profesional
|
proud
|
orgulloso
|
rapid, fast
|
rápido
|
realistic
|
realista
|
recent
|
reciente
|
reliable
|
fiable, confiable
|
rich
|
rico / rica
|
sad
|
triste
|
self-confident
|
seguro de
sí mismo
|
selfish
|
egoísta
|
sensitive
|
sensible
|
shy -
introverted
|
tímido,
vergonzoso - introvertido
|
silly, dumb
|
tonto / tonta
|
skinny
|
flaco / flaca
|
slender, slim
|
delgado /
delgada
|
slow
|
lento
|
small
|
chiquita
|
Spanish
|
español
/ española
|
strict
|
estricto,
severo,
riguroso
|
strong
|
fuerte
|
stubborn
|
terco,
testarudo,
tozudo
|
sympathetic
(understanding)
|
comprensivo
|
talkative
|
conversador,
hablador
|
trustworthy
|
digno de
confianza
|
two-faced,
fake
|
falso
|
ugly
|
feo / fea
|
various
|
diverso
|
weak
|
débil
|
weird
|
raro,
extraño
|
white
|
blanco
|
young
|
joven
|
|
|