How to use adjectives in Spanish.
Tutorial about Spanish Adjectives
When an Enlish speaker learns Spanish there are 3 things that at first may be difficult when learning the adjectives.
1.
Word Order
In Spanish the adjective goes after the noun. In English it is the opposite.
Eg. In English we say: "A red book" but in Spanish we say "A book red"
Eg. A red book = Un libro rojo.
2.
Gender
All the nouns
in Spanish are either masculine or feminine and when we use an adjective
they must agree with the gender of the noun.
So if the noun is masculine we use an "o" Eg. "un chico guapo" (a good looking boy)
but with a feminine noun we use an "a" Eg. "una chica guapa" (a good looking girl)
Note.There are
also a lot of adjectives that do not have an "a" or "o" ending eg.
verde= green in which case there is no difference when you use them
with masculine or feminine nouns.
3.
Singular and Plural
The adjective must
agree in number so if the noun is plural so is the adjective.
Eg. "un libro negro" = a black book - unos libros negros = some black books
Noun | Adjective | Translation |
Una chica | guapa | A pretty girl |
Unas chicas | guapas | Some pretty girls |
Un libro | rojo | A red book |
Unos libros | rojos | Some red books |
Instructions
You can use the Flashcard exercise below to get accustomed to how the adjectives work in Spanish. Click "restart" to start.There is another page which will help you learn the basic Spanish adjectives here.
The content of the flashcards
English | Spanish | Gender | Number |
a weak man | un hombre débil | Masculine | Singular |
A big table | Una mesa grande | Feminine | Singular |
5 small houses | 5 casas pequeñas | Feminine | Plural |
a expensive hotel | un hotel caro | Masculine | Singular |
an easy task | una tarea fácil | Feminine | Singular |
5 big houses | 5 casas grandes | Feminine | Plural |
two poor women | dos mujeres pobres | Feminine | Plural |
The good looking sisters | Las hermanas guapas | Feminine | Plural |
A bad book | un libro malo | Masculine | Singular |
a tall man | un hombre alto | Masculine | Singular |
The dry river | El rio seco | Masculine | Singular |
a hardworking dog | un perro trabajador | Masculine | Singular |
a difficult task | una tarea difícil | Feminine | Singular |
a lazy dog | un perro perezoso | Masculine | Singular |
long journeys | viajes largos | Masculine | Plural |
a short man | un hombre bajo | Masculine | Singular |
fat girls | chicas gordas | Feminine | Plural |
an boring magazine | una revista aburrida | Feminine | Singular |
clean cars | coches limpios | Masculine | Plural |
an interesting magazine | una revista interesante | Feminine | Singular |
A narrow path | Un sendero estrecho | Masculine | Singular |
red wine | vino tinto | Masculine | Singular |
a cheap hotel | un hotel barato | Masculine | Singular |
short journeys | viajes cortos | Masculine | Plural |
A small table | Una mesa pequeña | Feminine | Singular |
a cold beer | una cerveza fria | Feminine | Singular |
two rich women | dos mujeres ricas | Feminine | Plural |
a strong man | un hombre fuerte | Masculine | Singular |
A full glass | Un vaso lleno | Masculine | Singular |
dirty cars | coches sucios | Masculine | Plural |
A red cat | Un gato rojo | Masculine | Singular |
dark colours | colores oscuros | Masculine | Plural |
a hot beer | una cerveza caliente | Feminine | Singular |
The ugly sisters | Las hermanas feas | Feminine | Plural |
An empty glass | Un vaso vacío | Masculine | Singular |
thin girls | chicas delgadas | Feminine | Plural |