Spanish Adjectives: A Beginner’s Guide

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. In Spanish, adjectives are used to describe the characteristics of a noun, such as its size, color, shape, or personality. They can also be used to express opinions, emotions, or attitudes towards the noun.

Spanish adjectives usually come after the noun they modify and agree in gender and number with the noun. For example, “La puerta roja” (the red door) uses the feminine form “roja” to match the gender of the feminine noun “casa.” 

In the same way, “Los coches rápidos” (the fast cars) uses the plural masculine form “rápidos” to match the gender and number of the masculine noun “coches.”

Importance of Spanish Adjectives

Spanish adjectives allow you to provide more information about a noun and make your speech or writing more descriptive and interesting. They also help you to express your opinions and feelings in a more nuanced way.

Learning Spanish adjectives is crucial for beginners as it helps them to develop their vocabulary and grammar skills. By understanding the rules of adjective agreement, they can construct sentences that are grammatically correct and convey the intended meaning.

Here are some examples of Spanish adjectives and their meanings:

Adjective (M / F / Plural)	Meaning
Alto / alta / altos / altas	Tall
Bajo / baja / bajos / bajas	Short
Bonito / bonita / bonitos / bonitas	Pretty
Feo / fea / feos / feas	Ugly
Delgado / delgada / delgados / delgadas	Thin
Gordo / gorda / gordos / gordas	Fat
Nuevo / nueva / nuevos / nuevas	New
Viejo / vieja / viejos / viejas	Old

Related Posts:

• Spanish adverbs list

Basic Spanish Adjectives

As a beginner student of Spanish, it is important to learn some basic Spanish adjectives to help you describe people, places, and things. In this section, we will cover some common Spanish adjectives and their uses.

Common Spanish Adjectives

Here are some of the most common Spanish adjectives that you should learn:

• Grande (big)
• Bueno (good)
• Malo (bad)
• Nuevo (new)
• Viejo (old)
• Alto (tall)
• Difícil (difficult)
• Feliz (happy)
• Inteligente (intelligent)
• Lento (slow)
• Pequeño (small)
• Nice (nice)
• Mucho (a lot)
• Fácil (easy)
• Fuerte (strong)
• Tarde (late)
• Triste (sad)
• Abierto (open)
• Aburrido (boring)
• Bajo (short)
• Caro (expensive)
• Delicioso (delicious)
• Divertido (fun)
• Feo (ugly)
• Limpio (clean)
• Lleno (full)
• Rápido (fast)
• Rico (rich)
• Seco (dry)
• Simple (simple)
• Frío (cold)
• Caliente (hot)

Adjective-Noun Agreement

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. This means that if the noun is masculine, the adjective must be masculine, and if the noun is feminine, the adjective must be feminine. Similarly, if the noun is singular, the adjective must be singular, and if the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural.

For example:

• El hombre alto (the tall man)
• La mujer alta (the tall woman)
• Los hombres altos (the tall men)
• Las mujeres altas (the tall women)

There are some exceptions to this rule, such as adjectives that end in -e or -ista, which do not change for gender.

Related Posts:

• When to use Bien, Buen and Bueno in Spanish?

Gender and Quantity in Spanish Adjectives

As we just saw, in Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify. For example, “la casa bonita” (the pretty house) uses the feminine form of the adjective “bonita” because “casa” (house) is a feminine noun.

However, some adjectives have the same form for both masculine and feminine, such as “feliz” (happy) and “difícil” (difficult). In these cases, the gender is indicated by the article that precedes the noun. For example, “el estudiante feliz” (the happy student) uses the masculine article “el” to indicate that “feliz” is being used in its masculine form.

Adjectives that end in “o” are usually masculine, while those that end in “a” are usually feminine. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as “manos libres” (hands-free) which uses the masculine form of “libres” despite ending in “es“.

Understanding Quantity in Spanish Adjectives

In addition to gender, Spanish adjectives must also agree in quantity with the noun they modify. This means that if the noun is singular, the adjective must also be singular, and if the noun is plural, the adjective must also be plural.

To form the plural of most adjectives, simply add “s” to the end of the singular form. For example, “el libro nuevo” (the new book) becomes “los libros nuevos” (the new books) when pluralized.

However, there are some irregular adjectives that have different plural forms. For example, “fácil” (easy) becomes “fáciles” in the plural form regardless of the gender of the noun it modifies.

Related Posts:

• What are the plural forms in Spanish? Guide to make plurals in Spanish

How to use Spanish Adjectives in Sentences

When it comes to using Spanish adjectives in sentences, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. This section will cover the position of adjectives and how to use them with verbs.

Position of Adjectives

In Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. For example:

• El perro grande (The big dog)
• La casa blanca (The white house)
• La comida deliciosa (The delicious food)

Adjectives with Verbs

When using adjectives with verbs, there are two different types of adjectives: those that are used with the verb “ser” and those that are used with the verb “estar“.

Adjectives used with “ser” describe inherent qualities of a person, place, or thing. For example:

• Mi hermano es alto. (My brother is tall.)
• La casa es grande. (The house is big.)
• El coche es rápido. (The car is fast.)

Adjectives used with “estar” describe temporary states or conditions. For example:

• Estoy cansado. (I am tired.)
• El agua está fría. (The water is cold.)
• La comida está caliente. (The food is hot.)

It’s important to note that some adjectives can be used with both “ser” and “estar”, depending on the context. For example, “aburrido” can mean “boring” (used with “ser”) or “bored” (used with “estar”).

Here is a table summarizing the different uses of adjectives with “ser” and “estar”:

Adjective	Ser	Estar
Alto (tall)	Mi hermano es alto. (My brother is tall.)	Mi hermano está alto. (I want to express that my brother grew taller.)
Grande (big)	El perro  es grande. (The dog is big.)	El perro está grande. (The dog has gotten big.)
Aburrido (bored / boring)	El libro es muy aburrido. (The book is very boring.)	Estoy aburrido. (I am bored.)

Spanish Adjective Practise for Beginners

Match the photos with the adjectives

Write the adjectives in Spanish

---

Learn adjectives in Spanish!

---