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