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 |
The ugly sisters | Las hermanas feas | Feminine | Plural |
A small table | Una mesa pequeña | Feminine | Singular |
a cheap hotel | un hotel barato | Masculine | Singular |
a lazy dog | un perro perezoso | Masculine | Singular |
A bad book | un libro malo | Masculine | Singular |
a cold beer | una cerveza fria | Feminine | Singular |
a hot beer | una cerveza caliente | Feminine | Singular |
a weak man | un hombre débil | Masculine | Singular |
thin girls | chicas delgadas | Feminine | Plural |
The good looking sisters | Las hermanas guapas | Feminine | Plural |
an easy task | una tarea fácil | Feminine | Singular |
short journeys | viajes cortos | Masculine | Plural |
5 small houses | 5 casas pequeñas | Feminine | Plural |
a strong man | un hombre fuerte | Masculine | Singular |
two rich women | dos mujeres ricas | Feminine | Plural |
fat girls | chicas gordas | Feminine | Plural |
a short man | un hombre bajo | Masculine | Singular |
two poor women | dos mujeres pobres | Feminine | Plural |
an boring magazine | una revista aburrida | Feminine | Singular |
A narrow path | Un sendero estrecho | Masculine | Singular |
a hardworking dog | un perro trabajador | Masculine | Singular |
5 big houses | 5 casas grandes | Feminine | Plural |
The dry river | El rio seco | Masculine | Singular |
a tall man | un hombre alto | Masculine | Singular |
red wine | vino tinto | Masculine | Singular |
dark colours | colores oscuros | Masculine | Plural |
a difficult task | una tarea difícil | Feminine | Singular |
A big table | Una mesa grande | Feminine | Singular |
A full glass | Un vaso lleno | Masculine | Singular |
long journeys | viajes largos | Masculine | Plural |
a expensive hotel | un hotel caro | Masculine | Singular |
dirty cars | coches sucios | Masculine | Plural |
A red cat | Un gato rojo | Masculine | Singular |
An empty glass | Un vaso vacío | Masculine | Singular |
an interesting magazine | una revista interesante | Feminine | Singular |
clean cars | coches limpios | Masculine | Plural |