Language/Spanish/Grammar/Adjectives

Spanish Grammar - Adjectives

In today's lesson, we will be discussing Spanish adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns and pronouns. In Spanish, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in both 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 and singular, then the adjective must also be masculine and singular.

Formation of Adjectives

Adjectives in Spanish are usually formed by adding endings to the root of the word. The endings depend on the gender and number of the noun being modified.

For masculine singular nouns, the ending is usually -o. For example, the adjective "grande" (big) becomes "grande" when modifying a masculine singular noun.

For feminine singular nouns, the ending is usually -a. For example, the adjective "grande" (big) becomes "grande" when modifying a feminine singular noun.

For masculine plural nouns, the ending is usually -os. For example, the adjective "grande" (big) becomes "grandes" when modifying a masculine plural noun.

For feminine plural nouns, the ending is usually -as. For example, the adjective "grande" (big) becomes "grandes" when modifying a feminine plural noun.

Position of Adjectives

In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. For example, "el perro grande" (the big dog). However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, when using possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, etc.), these come before the noun they modify. For example, "mi perro grande" (my big dog).

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to point out specific people or things. In Spanish, there are four demonstrative adjectives: este, ese, aquel, and estos/esos/aquellos.

• Este is used to refer to something that is close to the speaker. For example, "Este libro es mío" (This book is mine).
• Ese is used to refer to something that is close to the person being spoken to. For example, "¿Ese libro es tuyo?" (Is that book yours?).
• Aquel is used to refer to something that is far from both the speaker and the person being spoken to. For example, "Aquel libro es de mi hermano" (That book is my brother's).
• Estos/esos/aquellos are used to refer to multiple people or things. For example, "Estos libros son míos" (These books are mine).

Adjective Agreement

As mentioned earlier, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in both 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 and singular, then the adjective must also be masculine and singular.

For example, "el perro grande" (the big dog). Here, the noun "perro" is masculine and singular, so the adjective "grande" must also be masculine and singular.

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Related Lessons

• Tener
• How to Use Be (SER and ESTAR)
• Masculine and Feminine
• Past Participle
• Past Perfect Tense
• Present Progressive
• The Articles
• Simple Past Tense
• Gender
• Imperfect Tense