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