What is an adjective?

An adjective is a describing word that tells you more about a person or thing, such as their appearance, colour, size or other qualities, for example, pretty, blue, big.

Using adjectives

Adjectives are words like clever, expensive and silly that tell you more about a noun (a living being, thing or idea) They can also tell you more about a pronoun , such as he or they. Adjectives are sometimes called describing words. They can be used right next to a noun they are describing, or can be separated from the noun by a verb like be, look, feel and so on.

1. a clever boy
2. an expensive coat
3. a silly idea
4. She’s just being silly

In English, the only time an adjective changes its form is when you are making a comparison.

1. She’s cleverer than her brother
2. That’s the silliest idea I’ve ever hear!

In Spanish, however, most adjectives agree with what they are describing. This means that their endings change depending on whether the person or thing you are referring to is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

• un chico rubio (a fair boy)
• una chica rubia (a fair girl)
• unos chicos rubios (some fair boys)
• unas chicas rubias (some fair girls)

In English adjectives come before the noun they describe, but in Spanish you usually put them after it.

• una casa blanca (the white house)

Making adjectives agree: forming feminine adjectives

The form of the adjective shown in dictionaries is generally then masculine singular form. This means that you need to know how to change its form to make it agree with the person or thing it is describing.

Adjectives ending in -o in the masculine change to -a for the feminine.

• mi hermano pequiño (my little brother)
• mi hermana pequña (my little sister)

Adjectives ending in any vowel other than -o that is: a, e, i or u or ending in a vowel with an accent on it do not change the feminine.

• el vestido verde (the green dress)
• la blusa verde (the green blouse)
• un pantalón caqui (some khaki trousers)
• una camisa caqui (a khaki shirt)
• un médico iraquí (an Iraqi doctor)
• una familia iraquí (an Iraqi family)

Adjectives ending in a consonant, any letter other than a vowel, do not change for the feminine except in the following cases:

• Adjectives of nationality or place ending in a consonant add -a for the feminine. If there is an accent on the final vowel in the masculine, they lose this in the feminine.
  • un periódico inglés (an English newspaper)
  • una revista inglesa (an English magazine)
  • el equipo francés (the French team)
  • la cocina francesa (French cooking)
  • el vino español (Spanish wine)
  • la lengua español (the Spanish language)

Notice that these adjectives do not start with a capital letter in Spanish.

• Adjectives ending in -or in the masculine usually change to -ora for the feminine.
  • un niño encantador (a charming little boy)
  • una niña encantadora (a charming little girl)

Notice that a few adjectives ending in -or used in comparisons do not change in the feminine…

1. mejor (better/best)
2. peor (worse/worst)
3. mayor (older/bigger)
4. superior (upper/top)
5. inferior (lower/inferior)
6. exterior (outside/foreign)
7. posterior (rear)

• Adjectives ending in -án, -ón and -ín in the masculine change to -ana, -ona and -ina, without an accent in the feminine.
  • un gesto burlón (a mocking gesture)
  • una sonrisa burlona (a mocking smile)
  • un hombre parlanchín (a chatty man)
  • una mujer parlanchina (a chatty woman)
• Adjectives ending in a consonant but which do not fall into the above catagories do not change in the feminine.
  • un chico joven (a young boy)
  • una chica joven (a young girl)
  • un final feliz (a happy ending)
  • una infancia feliz (a happy childhood)

Forming plural adjectives

• Adjectives ending in an unaccented vowel a, e, I, o, or u in the singular add -s in the plural.
  • el último tren (the last train)
  • los últimos trenes (the last trains)
  • una casa vieja (an old house)
  • unas casas viejas (some old houses)
  • una chica muy habladora (a very chatty girl)
  • unas chicas muy habladoras (some very chatty girls)
  • una pintora francesa (a French woman painter)
  • unas pintoras francesas (some French women painters)
  • una mesa verde (a green table)
  • unas mesas verdes (some green tables)
• Adjectives ending in a consonant in the masculine or feminine singular add -es in the plural. If there is an accent on the final syllable in the singular, they lose it in the plural.
  • un chico muy hablador (a very chatty boy)
  • unos chicos muy habladores (some very chatty boys)
  • un pintor francés (a French painter)
  • unos pintores franceses (some French painters)
  • un examen fácil (an easy exam)
  • unos exámenes fáciles (some easy exams)
  • la tendencia actual (the current trend)
  • las tendencias actuales (the current trends)
• -z at the end of a singluar adjective changes to -ces in the plural.
  • un día feliz (a happy day)
  • unos días felices (happy days)

Invariable adjectives

A small number of adjectives do not change in the feminine or plural. They are called invariable because their form never changes, not matter what they are describing. These adjectives are often made up of more than one word – for example Azul marino (navy blue) – or come from the names of things – for example naranja (orange).

• las chaquetas azul marino (navy-blue jackets)
• los vestidos naranja (orange dresses)

Short forms of adjectives

The following adjectives drop the final -o before a masculine singular noun.

bueno	buen	un buen libro	(a good book)
malo	mal	mal tiempo	(bad weather)
alguno	algún	algún libro	(some book)
ninguno	ningún	ningún hombre	(no man)
uno	un	un día	(one day)
primero	primer	el primer hijo	(the first child)
tercero	tercer	el tercer hijo	(the third child)

Notice that the adjectives alguno and ninguno add accents when they are shortened to become algún and ningún.

• grande (big/great) is shortened to gran before a singular noun.
  • un gran actor (a great actor)
  • una gran sorpresa (a big surprise)
• ciento (a hundred) changes to cien before all plural nouns as well as before mil (thousand) and millones (millions)
  • cien años (a hundred years)
  • cien millones (a hundred million)

Notice that you use the form ciento before other numbers

• ciento tres (one hundred and three)

cualquiera drops the final a before singular nouns.

• cualquier día (any day)
• a cualquier hora (any time)

Resumen

1. Most Spanish adjectives change their form according to whether the person or thing they are describing is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
2. In Spanish, adjectives usually go after the noun they describe.
3. Don’t forget to make adjectives agree with the person or thing they describe – they change for the feminine and plural forms:
   • un chico español
   • una chica españoles
   • unos chicos españoles
   • unas chicas españolas
4. Some adjectives never change their form.
5. Some adjectives drop the final -o before a masculine singular noun.
6. grande and ciento also change before certain nouns.