We have been focusing on Spanish vocabulary during the last few weeks.
Check some of our vocabulary lists if you haven’t yet.
However, today we are talking about Spanish adjectives. We are going to learn about the different forms that Spanish adjectives take, but before we jump into that, I want you to know something very important:
In Spanish, adjectives usually follow the noun, which is the opposite of what happens in English.
For example, in English, we would say “long stick”. But in Spanish, what we say is the equivalent of “stick long”. “Stick” is “palo” in Spanish, and “long” is “largo”. So in Spanish, “long stick” is “palo largo”.
Using the adjective after the noun in Spanish feels a little weird at first, but it is actually not that difficult. And there is a positive aspect about it: We are about to learn how Spanish adjectives change and, at first, you will need to think about which form of the adjective to use. The good thing is that using the adjective after the noun will give you more time to think about it.
And, don’t worry, even if you put the adjective incorrectly before the noun, you will be understood anyway. If someone said “stick long” instead of “long stick”, you would still understand that, right?
The Forms of Spanish Adjectives
The forms of Spanish adjectives have to match the noun they are describing. If you already know how definite and indefinite articles work, it is basically the same thing.
So in our example from before “palo largo”, “palo” is the noun. It is a masculine - singular noun. So we have to make “largo” match “palo”. This means that the form of this adjective has to be masculine - singular too.
The Forms of Spanish Adjectives Ending in -o
Adjectives ending in -o, normally have four different forms: the form ending in -o, plus forms ending in -a, -os and -as.
• The form ending in -o is the masculine - singular form.
• The form ending in -a is the feminine - singular form.
• The form ending in -os is the masculine - plural form.
• The form ending in -as is the feminine - plural form.
This won’t surprise you, since -o is the vowel in which most Spanish masculine nouns end, and -a is the vowel in which most Spanish feminine nouns end.
Anyway, that is why we use “largo”, the form ending in -o, with a masculine - singular noun such as “palo”.
Now, if we wanted to say “long line” in Spanish, we would need to use a different form. “Line” in Spanish is “línea”, and it is a feminine-singular noun. So we have to use the feminine-singular form of the adjective “largo”, which is the form ending in -a: “larga”.
And we would also use different forms with plural nouns.
With “palos” [sticks], which is a masculine-plural noun, we would use the form of the adjective ending in -os: “largos”.
• “Long sticks” would be “palos largos” in Spanish.
With “líneas” [lines], which is a feminine-plural noun, we would use the form of the adjective ending in -as: “largas”.
• “Long lines” would be “líneas largas” in Spanish.
Remember that not all Spanish masculine nouns end in -o, and not all Spanish feminine nouns end in -a. That is why you need to learn the gender of each noun. For example, “puente” [bridge] is a masculine noun, while “fuente” [fountain] is a feminine noun.
However, we use Spanish adjectives ending in -o in the same way. If we wanted to say “new bridge” and “new fountain”, we use “nuevo” [new] in the same way we have used “largo” [long]:
• nuevo is the masculine-singular form
• nueva is the feminine-singular form
• nuevos is the masculine-plural form
• nuevas is the feminine-plural form
So, in Spanish:
• “New bridge” would be “puente nuevo”.
• “New fountain” would be “fuente nueva”.
• “New bridges” would be “puentes nuevos”.
• “New fountains” would be “fuentes nuevas”.
The Forms of Spanish Adjectives Ending in Other Vowels
Unlike Spanish adjectives ending in -o, Spanish adjectives ending in other vowels have only two forms, a singular form and a plural form.
We add an -s to the vowel in order to form the plural form. For example:
• “Grande” is the singular form for “big”.
• “Grandes” is the plural form for “big”.
• “Naranja” is the singular form for “orange”.
• “Naranjas” is the plural form for “oranges”.
This means that we use the same form to match a masculine noun and a feminine noun. In Spanish:
•“Big bridge” is “puente grande”.
•“Big fountain” is “fuente grande”.
Even if we are describing nouns ending in -o and -a, we use the same form.
In Spanish:
• “Big apartment” is “apartamento grande”.
• “Big house” is “casa grande”.
And the same happens with plural forms:
• “Big bridges” is “puentes grandes”.
• “Big fountains” is “fuentes grandes”.
• “Big apartments” is “apartamentos grandes”.
• “Big houses” is “casas grandes”.
The Forms of Spanish Adjectives Ending in a Consonant
Spanish adjectives that end with a consonant have also only two forms, but their plural form ends in -es instead of only -s.
• “Popular” is the singular form for “popular”.
• “Populares” is the plural form for “popular”.
• “Fácil” is the singular form for “easy”.
• “Fáciles” is the plural form for “easy”.
In Spanish:
• “Popular boy” would be “chico popular”.
• “Popular girl” would be “chica popular”.
• “Popular boys” would be “chicos populares”.
•“Popular girls” would be “chicas populares”.
The Forms of Spanish Adjectives Ending in a Stressed -í or -ú
There aren’t many Spanish adjectives ending in a stressed -í or -ú but, if you ever use one, you must know that their plural form is also built adding -es:
• “Iraní” is the singular form for “Iranian”.
• “Iraníes” is the plural form for “Iranian”.
• “Hindú” is the singular form for “Hindu”.
• “Hindúes” is the plural form for “Hindu”.
In Spanish:
• “Iranian boy” would be “chico iraní”.
• “Iranian girl” would be “chica iraní”.
• “Iranian boys” would be “chicos iraníes”.
• “Iranian girls” would be “chicas iraníes”.
Questions About the Use of Spanish Adjectives?
I hope this article about how to use adjectives in Spanish was helpful.
If you have questions related to the Spanish language, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll be happy to answer them.