Language/Catalan/Grammar/Adjectives
Hi Catalan learners! 😊 In today's lesson, we will be discussing adjectives in the Catalan language. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns and pronouns. They can be used to express a variety of ideas, such as size, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, and more.
Adjective Agreement
In Catalan, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number. This means that the adjective must match the gender and number of the noun it is describing. For example, if the noun is masculine singular, then the adjective must also be masculine singular.
Masculine Singular
When the noun is masculine singular, the adjective will usually end in -o. For example:
- El gos és petit. (The dog is small.)
- El llibre és interessant. (The book is interesting.)
Feminine Singular
When the noun is feminine singular, the adjective will usually end in -a. For example:
- La casa és gran. (The house is big.)
- La taula és blava. (The table is blue.)
Masculine Plural
When the noun is masculine plural, the adjective will usually end in -os. For example:
- Els gossos són petits. (The dogs are small.)
- Els llibres són interessants. (The books are interesting.)
Feminine Plural
When the noun is feminine plural, the adjective will usually end in -es. For example:
- Les cases són grans. (The houses are big.)
- Les taules són blaves. (The tables are blue.)
Adjective Position
In Catalan, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. For example:
- El gos petit. (The small dog.)
- La casa gran. (The big house.)
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, when the adjective is used to describe a person, it usually comes before the noun. For example:
- Un bon amic. (A good friend.)
- Una bona amiga. (A good friend.)
Examples
| English | Catalan | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| OPEN | OBERT | OBERTA |
| TALL | ALT | ALTA |
| YELLOW | GROC | GROGA |
| BLUE | BLAU | BLAVA |
| CHEAP | BARAT | BARATA |
| DRUNK | BORRATXO | BORRATXA |
| GOOD | BO | BONA |
| BEAUTIFUL | BONIC | BONICA |
| WHITE | BLANC | BLANCA |
| TIRED (I) | CANSAT | CANSADA |
| EXPENSIVE | CAR | CARA |
| SURE (I) | ESTIC SEGUR | ESTIC SEGUR |
| FULL | PLE | PLENA |
| SLOW | LENT | LENTA |
| DIFFERENT | DIFERENT | DIFERENT |
| HARD | DIFÍCIL | DIFÍCIL |
| EASY | FÀCIL | FÀCIL |
| HUNGRY (I) | TENIR GANA | TENIR GANA |
| CLOSED | TANCAT | TANCADA |
| HAPPY (I) | FELIÇ | FELIÇ |
| COLD | FRED | FREDA |
| BIG | GRAN | GRAN |
| HUGE | MOLT GRAN | MOLT GRAN |
| COST-FREE | GRATIS | GRATIS |
| IMPORTANT | IMPORTANT | IMPORTANT |
| IMPOSSIBLE | IMPOSSIBLE | IMPOSSIBLE |
| SMART | INTEL•LIGENT | INTEL•LIGENT |
| INTERNATIONAL | INTERNACIONAL | INTERNACIONAL |
| YOUNG | JOVE | JOVE |
| FREE | LLIURE | LLIURE |
| FAR | LLUNY | LLUNY |
| LONG | LLARG | LLARGA |
| SAME ... | EL MATEIX ... | LA MATEIXA ... |
| SAME THING | --------------------- | LA MATEIXA COSA |
| NATIONAL | NACIONAL | NACIONAL |
| NECESSARY | NECESSARI | NECESSÀRIA |
| NORMAL | NORMAL | NORMAL |
| NEW | NOU | NOVA |
| NEVER | MAI | --------------- |
| BUSY (I) | OCUPAT | OCUPADA |
| BUSY (TEL) | OCUPAT | ---------------- |
| OTHER | ALTRE | ALTRA |
| SMALL | PETIT | PETITA |
| DANGEROUS | PERILLÓS | PERILLOSA |
| NEAR | PROP DE | --------------- |
| NEAR OF THE HOTEL | A PROP DE L`HOTEL | --------------- |
| BLACK | NEGRE | NEGRA |
| HOT | CALENT | CALENTA |
| FAST | RÀPID | RÀPIDA |
| LATE | TARD | ----------------- |
| OLD | VELL | VELLA |
| OLD (THINGS) | ANTIC | ANTIGA |
| GREEN | VERD | VERDA |
| RED | VERMELL | VERMELLA |
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments section below.
Please feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Videos
Learn Catalan: masculine and feminine adjectives (introduction ...