It doesnโt take long to realize that Spanish adjectives follow different rules than in English, does it?
They come in all sorts of โwrongโ places.
They change their form.
They even change their number.
It is so easy to get discouraged and confused. If adjectives werenโt so useful, many of us would probably ignore and never use them.
Unfortunately, you canโt avoid using adjectives – they make the language more colorful and descriptive; they allow you to better explain your ideas, choices, and needs.
Time for an attitude change, then! Letโs conquer Spanish adjectives together, shall we?
Adjectives in Spanish – the Absolute Grammar Essentials
- adjectives are words that describe or clarify nouns
- they may contain information about size, color, texture, age, shape, etc.
- in Spanish, their gender depends on the noun they accompany
- for some adjectives, the masculine and feminine forms are the same
- unlike in English, Spanish adjectives have singular and plural form
I realize such a compact summary is probably not enough to clarify all your doubts and questions, which is why we are going to analyze Spanish adjectives in more detail.
What are adjectives and how to use them in Spanish?
For those of you who are not entirely familiar with grammar concepts, adjectives are a group of words that modify / describe nouns (that is: objects, people, places, animals, concepts, etc.)
Letโs take a simple noun: a house.
In Spanish, that would translate as una casa.
Now, ask yourself what a house can be or look like.
There are so many possibilities, arenโt there?
A big house,
a modern house,
an expensive house,
cozy house,
an old house, etc.
All the words Iโve marked in cursive are nothing else than ADJECTIVES.
English is packed with different types of adjectives, but today we will be dealing only with one of them, which is descriptive adjectives. They can contain information about:
- appearance (pretty, ugly, handsome, attractive, etc.)
- size (small, big, tiny, enormous, etc.)
- shape (round, oval, square, etc.)
- color (white, blue, yellow, green, etc.)
- texture (soft, smooth, rough, etc.)
- temperature (hot, cold, chilly, warm, etc.)
- personality (funny, friendly, shy, outgoing, etc.)
- other qualities (dangerous, crowded, violent, etc.)
All of these descriptive adjectives have, of course, their Spanish equivalents.
How about if we see a few examples weโll later use as our base?
30 common adjectives in Spanish and their 30 antonyms:
๐ช๐ธ grande – ๐ฌ๐ง big ๐ช๐ธ bonito – ๐ฌ๐ง pretty ๐ช๐ธ rico – ๐ฌ๐ง rich ๐ช๐ธ alto – ๐ฌ๐ง high ๐ช๐ธ caliente – ๐ฌ๐ง hot ๐ช๐ธ barato – ๐ฌ๐ง cheap ๐ช๐ธ rรกpido – ๐ฌ๐ง fast ๐ช๐ธ seguro -๐ฌ๐ง safe, secure ๐ช๐ธ liviano – ๐ฌ๐ง light ๐ช๐ธ joven – ๐ฌ๐ง young ๐ช๐ธ fรกcil – ๐ฌ๐ง easy ๐ช๐ธ listo – ๐ฌ๐ง smart ๐ช๐ธ interesante – ๐ฌ๐ง interesting ๐ช๐ธ delgado – ๐ฌ๐ง thin, slim ๐ช๐ธ simple– ๐ฌ๐ง simple ๐ช๐ธ largo – ๐ฌ๐ง long ๐ช๐ธ claro – ๐ฌ๐ง light, clear ๐ช๐ธ mojado – ๐ฌ๐ง wet ๐ช๐ธ suave – ๐ฌ๐ง smooth ๐ช๐ธ blando – ๐ฌ๐ง soft ๐ช๐ธ ancho – ๐ฌ๐ง wide, broad ๐ช๐ธ energรฉtico – ๐ฌ๐ง energetic ๐ช๐ธ delicioso- ๐ฌ๐ง delicious ๐ช๐ธ limpio – ๐ฌ๐ง clean ๐ช๐ธ cortรฉs – ๐ฌ๐ง polite ๐ช๐ธ fuerte– ๐ฌ๐ง strong ๐ช๐ธ valiente – ๐ฌ๐ง brave ๐ช๐ธ alegre – ๐ฌ๐ง happy ๐ช๐ธ abierto – ๐ฌ๐ง open ๐ช๐ธ lleno – ๐ฌ๐งfull | ๐ช๐ธ pequeรฑo– ๐ฌ๐ง small ๐ช๐ธ feo – ๐ฌ๐ง ugly ๐ช๐ธ pobre – ๐ฌ๐ง poor ๐ช๐ธ bajo – ๐ฌ๐ง low ๐ช๐ธ frio – ๐ฌ๐ง cold ๐ช๐ธ caro – ๐ฌ๐ง expensive ๐ช๐ธ lento – ๐ฌ๐ง slow ๐ช๐ธ peligroso – ๐ฌ๐ง dangerous ๐ช๐ธ pesado – ๐ฌ๐ง heavy ๐ช๐ธ viejo – ๐ฌ๐ง old ๐ช๐ธ difรญcil– ๐ฌ๐ง difficult ๐ช๐ธ tonto – ๐ฌ๐ง silly, stupid ๐ช๐ธ aburrido – ๐ฌ๐ง boring ๐ช๐ธ gordo – ๐ฌ๐ง fat ๐ช๐ธ complicado – ๐ฌ๐ง complicated ๐ช๐ธ corto – ๐ฌ๐ง short ๐ช๐ธ oscuro – ๐ฌ๐ง dark ๐ช๐ธ seco – ๐ฌ๐ง dry ๐ช๐ธ รกspero – ๐ฌ๐ง rough ๐ช๐ธ duro – ๐ฌ๐ง hard ๐ช๐ธ estrecho – ๐ฌ๐ง narrow ๐ช๐ธ cansado – ๐ฌ๐ง tired ๐ช๐ธ asqueroso – ๐ฌ๐ง disgusting ๐ช๐ธ sucio – ๐ฌ๐ง dirty ๐ช๐ธ maleducado – ๐ฌ๐ง rude ๐ช๐ธ dรฉbil – ๐ฌ๐ง weak ๐ช๐ธ cobarde – ๐ฌ๐ง coward ๐ช๐ธ triste – ๐ฌ๐ง sad ๐ช๐ธ cerrado – ๐ฌ๐ง close ๐ช๐ธ vacรญo – ๐ฌ๐ง empty |
For more examples of adjectives, check out my posts on personality traits, feelings and moods, shopping, and restaurants in Spanish.
Spanish adjectives go AFTER the noun.
That is the first and most important rule about Spanish adjectives, which makes it quite different from English and causes quite a few mistakes among native English speakers.
Letโs have a look:
๐ช๐ธ Esta es una casa grande.
๐ฌ๐ง This is a big house.
๐ช๐ธ Vivo en un edificio alto.
๐ฌ๐ง I live in a tall building.
๐ช๐ธ Tengo un perro viejo.
๐ฌ๐ง I have an old dog.
๐ช๐ธ Necesito un carro nuevo.
๐ฌ๐ง I need a new car.
๐ช๐ธ Test Your Spanish Knowledge ๐ช๐ธ
See? In the Spanish version, you need to mention the noun first and then describe it with an adjective of your choice.
Letโs call it our Rule of Thumb #1.
Genders in Spanish grammar
Another important difference between English and Spanish has to do with word gender.
Youโre probably asking yourself, โWhat? How can words have a genderโ?
In English, you canโt say whether a lamp is masculine or feminine, or a car, or a table.
The articles that accompany nouns (A / AN or THE) donโt convey any such information.
In Spanish, however, nouns DO have genders, and the articles tell you if a specific word is considered feminine or masculine.
๐ช๐ธ un perro – the article UN indicates that the noun is masculine
๐ฌ๐ง a dog
๐ช๐ธ una casa – the article UNA indicates that the noun is feminine
๐ฌ๐ง a house
When we talk about a specific dog or a particular house, the indefinite articles UN and UNA are replaced with EL and LA.
๐ช๐ธ el perro – ๐ฌ๐ง the dog
๐ช๐ธ la casa – ๐ฌ๐ง the house
Now, letโs suppose that you want to describe both the dog and the house with adjectives.
The Rule of Thumb # 2 says: adjust the adjectiveโs form according to the gender of the noun it describes.
Oh, boy!
Sorry if I am getting too scholarly. I am a teacher, after all.
I promise I will do my best to explain it in an easy way.
How to change the gender of Spanish adjectives from masculine to feminine?
The way you find adjectives in a dictionary or an online translator is in their masculine form. The adjectives from the list above are all masculine as well.
How to change them to feminine?
Well, it depends on how they end:
Adjectives ending in an โ-O.โ
This group of adjectives replaces the vowel O with A in the feminine form.
So:
frรญo – frรญa
bonito – bonita
pequeรฑo – pequeรฑa
lento – lenta
peligroso – peligrosa
What would it look like in combination with nouns?
๐ช๐ธ un / el plato frรญo – the word โplatoโ is masculine, and so is the adjective
๐ฌ๐ง a / the cold dish
๐ช๐ธ una / la niรฑa pequeรฑa – the word โniรฑaโ is feminine, and so it the adjective
๐ฌ๐ง a / the little girl
Would you like to see some more examples?
๐ช๐ธ โEl Patito Feoโ es mi cuento favorito. – both โpatitoโ and โcuentoโ are masculine
๐ฌ๐ง โThe Ugly Duckingโ is my favorite story.
๐ช๐ธ No quiero vivir en una calle peligrosa. – โcalleโ is feminine
๐ฌ๐ง I donโt want to live in a dangerous street.
๐ช๐ธ Necesitamos cortar el รกrbol alto. – โรกrbolโ is masculine
๐ฌ๐ง We need to cut down the tall tree.
๐ช๐ธ ยฟPor quรฉ compraste una motocicleta vieja? – โmotocicletaโ is feminine
๐ฌ๐ง Why did you buy an old motorcycle?
Adjectives ending in an โ-Eโ or โ-Aโ
This group of adjectives is much easier as it does not require you to change anything, no matter if you describe a masculine or a feminine noun.
Check out the phrases below:
๐ช๐ธ un paรญs grande – โpaรญsโ is masculine in Spanish
๐ฌ๐ง a big country
๐ช๐ธ una ciudad grande – โciudadโ is feminine in Spanish
๐ฌ๐ง a big city
The same thing happens with an adjective โoptimistaโ – optimistic.
๐ช๐ธ un plan optimista – โplanโ is masculine in Spanish
๐ฌ๐ง an optimistic plan
๐ช๐ธ una canciรณn optimista– โcanciรณnโ is feminine in Spanish
un optimistic song
See? No change! Adjectives like โgrandeโ and โoptimistaโ are much friendlier!
- ๐ช๐ธ alegre – ๐ฌ๐ง happy
- ๐ช๐ธ amable – ๐ฌ๐ง kind
- ๐ช๐ธ fuerte – ๐ฌ๐ง strong
- ๐ช๐ธ rentable– ๐ฌ๐ง profitable
- ๐ช๐ธ responsable – ๐ฌ๐ง responsible
- ๐ช๐ธ importante -๐ฌ๐ง important
- ๐ช๐ธ brillante – ๐ฌ๐งbrilliant
- ๐ช๐ธ consciente – ๐ฌ๐ง conscious
- ๐ช๐ธ prudente – ๐ฌ๐ง careful
- ๐ช๐ธ cobarde – ๐ฌ๐ง coward
- ๐ช๐ธ inteligente – ๐ฌ๐ง intelligent
- ๐ช๐ธ emocionante – ๐ฌ๐ง exciting
- ๐ช๐ธ interesante– ๐ฌ๐ง interesting
- ๐ช๐ธ realista – ๐ฌ๐ง realistic
- ๐ช๐ธ futurista – ๐ฌ๐ง futuristic
- ๐ช๐ธ pacifista – ๐ฌ๐ง pacifist
- ๐ช๐ธ pesimista – ๐ฌ๐ง pessimistic
- ๐ช๐ธ perfeccionista – ๐ฌ๐ง perfectionist
Adjectives ending in a consonant
The third group of Spanish adjectives includes those whose last letter is a consonant. Most of them (there are exceptions, unfortunately) keep the same form no matter the gender of the described noun.
If you scroll back to our list, youโll find one adjective belonging to this category: joven – young.
๐ช๐ธ una pareja joven – โparejaโ is a feminine noun in Spanish
๐ฌ๐ง a young couple
๐ช๐ธ un hombre joven – โhombreโ is, of course, masculine
๐ฌ๐ง a young man
Would you like to learn more adjectives that finish in a consonant? Here are some:
- ๐ช๐ธ leรกl– ๐ฌ๐ง loyal
- ๐ช๐ธ feliz– ๐ฌ๐ง happy
- ๐ช๐ธ dรฉbil– ๐ฌ๐ง weak
- ๐ช๐ธ fรกcil – ๐ฌ๐ง easy
- ๐ช๐ธ azul- ๐ฌ๐ง blue
- ๐ช๐ธ fiel – ๐ฌ๐ง faithful, loyal
- ๐ช๐ธ cortรฉs – ๐ฌ๐ง polite
๐ช๐ธ El perro de mi vecino es muy fiel. – โperroโ is masculine
๐ฌ๐ง My neighborโs dog is very loyal.
๐ช๐ธ La trabajadora mรกs fiel que hemos tenido es Margarita. – โtrabajadoraโ is feminine
๐ฌ๐ง Margarita is the most loyal worker weโve had.
๐ช๐ธ La tarea que me diste no es fรกcil. – โtareaโ is feminine
๐ฌ๐ง The task you gave me is not easy.
๐ช๐ธ El trabajo de Pedro es muy fรกcil. – โtrabajoโ is masculine
๐ฌ๐ง Pedroโs job is not easy.
For those of you who are slightly more advanced in Spanish, you might stumble upon exceptions to this rule. Adjectives ending in โ-รN,โ โOR,โ or โ-รSโ lose the accent in feminine form and add the letter โAโ at the end:
๐ช๐ธ gruรฑรณn – gruรฑona
๐ฌ๐ง grumpy
๐ช๐ธ hablador – habladora
๐ฌ๐ง chatty
๐ช๐ธ francรฉs – francesa
๐ฌ๐ง French
Luckily, they are not too many.
Spanish adjectives in the plural form
Congratulations! Youโve just gotten through one major grammar topic.
Time for the next one! Adjectives in Spanish and their number.
As you know, English adjectives donโt pluralize. They always keep the same, no matter if the noun they describe is used in the singular or plural form. Like in the sentences below:
I want to eat a red apple. – the noun โappleโ is in singular form (only one)
He doesnโt like red apples. – the noun โapplesโ is in plural form (multiple apples)
See? You can change the noun from singular to plural, yet the English adjective remains unchanged.
If you are learning Spanish, however, you may forget this rule.
Instead, learn our Rule of Thumb # 3: Spanish adjectives do pluralize.
Making the plural form by adding an โS.โ
The good news is, in most cases, they make their plural form by simply adding the letter โSโ at the end. This rule applies to adjectives ending in a vowel (โO,โ โEโ or โAโ)
๐ช๐ธ un chico guapo – muchos chicos guapos
๐ฌ๐ง a handsome guy – many handsome guys
๐ช๐ธ un dรญa hermoso – muchos dรญas hermosos
๐ฌ๐ง a beautiful day – many beautiful days
๐ช๐ธ un postre delicioso- muchos postres deliciosos
๐ฌ๐ง a delicious dessert – many delicious desserts
๐ช๐ธ un hombre amable – muchos hombres amables
๐ฌ๐ง a nice man – many nice men
๐ช๐ธ un plan realista – muchos planes realistas
๐ฌ๐ง a realistic plan – many realistic plans
Iโm sure youยดll agree it is not such a big deal having to remember about the additional โS.โ You need to pluralize the noun anyway, right?
Plural form and the adjective gender
If you review the examples of the plural form above, youโll realize that all the nouns I used are masculine.
What happens if the noun you want to describe is feminine?
In such a case, your job is double: you have to adjust the gender of the adjective you use AND its number.
Have a look:
๐ช๐ธ una mujer rubia – muchas mujeres rubias
๐ฌ๐ง a blond woman – many blond women
๐ช๐ธ una maรฑana tranquila – muchas maรฑanas tranquilas
๐ฌ๐ง a beautiful day – many beautiful days
๐ช๐ธ una calle peligrosa– muchas calles peligrosas
๐ฌ๐ง a dangerous street – many dangerous streets
Of course, for those adjectives whose masculine and feminine form is the same, you only need to worry about the number.
๐ช๐ธ una mujer amable – muchas mujeres amables
๐ฌ๐ง a nice woman- many nice women
๐ช๐ธ una tarea realista – muchas tareas realistas
๐ฌ๐ง a realistic task- many realistic tasks
How to pluralize adjectives ending in a consonant
The last group of adjectives we need to analyze are those that end in a consonant.
Do you remember some of them?
Thatโs right: leรกl, cortรฉs, azul, fรกcil, feliz, etc.
Can you recall whether or not they changed their gender? No, they didnโt
But they do change their number.
However, in Spanish, you canโt simply โglueโ the โSโ to another consonant.
โ los ejercicios fรกcils
โ los ojos azuls
Instead, you need to separate the 2 consonants with the vowel โEโ. So:
โ๏ธ los ejercicios fรกciles
โ๏ธ los ojos azules
That is not the only thing youโll need to remember, though.
There are two more details regarding the plural form of the adjectives ending in a consonant:
- When the last consonant of the adjective is โZ,โ it needs to be replaced with โCโ and then added โES.โ
๐ช๐ธ un final feliz – muchos finales felices
๐ฌ๐ง a happy end – many happy ends
๐ช๐ธ un lobo feroz – muchos lobos feroces
๐ฌ๐ง a ferocious wolf – many ferocious wolves
๐ช๐ธ una mujer eficaz – muchas mujeres eficaces
๐ฌ๐ง an efficient woman – many efficient women
๐ช๐ธ una persona voraz – muchas personas voraces
๐ฌ๐ง a voracious person – many voracious people
- The adjectives that stress the last syllable in the singular form lose the accent mark in the plural form. This rule applies to adjectives that have at least two syllables.
๐ช๐ธ un hombre leรกl – muchos hombres leales
๐ฌ๐ง a loyal man – many loyal men
๐ช๐ธ una persona cortรฉs – muchas personas corteses
๐ฌ๐ง a polite person – many polite people
๐ช๐ธ un gato gruรฑรณn – muchos gatos gruรฑones
๐ฌ๐ง a grumpy cat- many grumpy cats
***
Thatโs all about adjectives, guys!
Please remember our 3 Rules of Thumb:
#1 Spanish adjectives go after the noun
#2 Spanish adjectives have genders
#3 Spanish adjectives can change the number from singular to plural