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