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