Los Adjetivos

Adjectives in Spanish must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify.

Gender Agreement

Masculine:

  • El libro rojo (the red book)
  • El gato pequeño (the small cat)

Feminine:

  • La casa roja (the red house)
  • La gata pequeña (the small cat)

Number Agreement

Singular:

  • El niño alto (the tall boy)
  • La niña alta (the tall girl)

Plural:

  • Los niños altos (the tall boys)
  • Las niñas altas (the tall girls)

Common Adjectives

Ending in -o/-a:

  • Bonito/Bonita (pretty)
  • Feo/Fea (ugly)
  • Alto/Alta (tall)
  • Bajo/Baja (short)
  • Nuevo/Nueva (new)
  • Viejo/Vieja (old)

Ending in -e (same for both genders):

  • Grande (big)
  • Inteligente (intelligent)
  • Interesante (interesting)
  • Fuerte (strong)

Ending in consonant (same for both genders):

  • Fácil (easy)
  • Difícil (difficult)
  • Azul (blue)
  • Gris (gray)

Position of Adjectives

Most adjectives come after the noun:

  • Un coche rápido (a fast car)
  • Una película interesante (an interesting movie)

Some adjectives come before the noun:

  • Un buen libro (a good book)
  • Una mala idea (a bad idea)
  • Mucho dinero (much money)

Examples

  • Los perros negros (the black dogs)
  • Las casas grandes (the big houses)
  • Un hombre inteligente (an intelligent man)
  • Una mujer fuerte (a strong woman)