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