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