ADJECTIVES

In this section you will find:
 

• WHAT ARE ADJECTIVES?
• PLURAL
• TYPES OF ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives modify nouns. In English, adjectives usually go before the noun. In Spanish, they usually go after. Let's take a look:

• El, and un are also adjectives because they are modifying the noun. Nowadays, Spanish grammar classifies articles as part of  adjectives.

• Adjectives have variations of gender and number. For example,

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PLURAL
 

• To form the plural, the letter -s is required at the end of each adjective specially if the adjective ends in a vowel.

• Adjectives that end in -o are normally masculine, and adjectives ending in -a are normally feminine.

• Adjectives ending in -or require an -a to obtain the feminine.

• Adjectives that don't end neither in -o nor -a, maintain the same structure when referring to both genders. These adjectives are known as common gender adjectives.

• When these common adjectives end in consonants such as -l or -n,  -es is added in order to obtain the plural. Let's see,

• * Note that the plural of joven carries an accent mark on the letter o.
  ** The plural of común does not carry the accent mark as it does in the singular.

• If the common adjectives end in -z, -z is changed for -c and -es is also added to obtain the plural.

• And, as we already saw, if the common adjectives end in a vowel, only the letter -s is added in order to obtain the plural. For example,

• There are some adjectives that do not change in the plural. That is the case of the words:

•  

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  triángulo isósceles	triángulos isósceles
  formato estándar	formatos estándar
  ojo alerta	ojos alerta
  apartamento modelo	apartamentos modelo
  palabra clave	palabras claves
  pantalón beige	pantalones beige

• Some adjectives are shortened when they go before the noun. This in known in Spanish as Apócope.

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TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
 
 

• POSSESSIVE: agree with the nouns they modify, not with the possessor.

• When referring to parts of the body, there are two ways of mentioning possessive adjectives. For example,

•  

  Me lavo la cara

  OR
   
   

  Lavo mi cara

  
   

  Noticed that in the first sentence the article la is used before the noun. In the second sentence however, the possessive adjective is used right before the noun.
   

  But never say,
   
   

  Me lavo mi cara

  
   

  • This sentence is repetitive because it it using a reflexive and a possessive adjective, me and mi.

  
   
   

• Please note: there is a difference between a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun. A possessive adjective always the adjective is placed in front of the noun, for example,

• But with the possessive pronouns, pronouns replaced the noun, for example,
   
   
   

  el mío

  el suyo

  
   
   

• DEMONSTRATIVES: agree with the number and gender they modify. They are called demonstrative because the point out a noun. Let's look at them,

• Demonstrative adjectives don't carry accent mark as demonstrative pronouns do.

• INTERROGATIVES: ¿Qué? + noun (¿which?, ¿what?) and ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta? ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas? + noun(¿how much? ¿how many?) are under this category. For example,

•  
   

  ¿Qué libro tiene Camila?

  ¿A qué hora sale Galina?

  ¿Cuánto dinero tiene Carlos?

  ¿Cuántas sandalias tienes tú?

  
   
   

• DESCRIPTIVE: Tell us something about the nature of the noun they modify. They describe shape, color, size, origin, condition, and the like.

• COMPARATIVES: these adjectives promote the comparison between nouns. For example,

• SUPERLATIVES: these are adjectives that represent the maximum status of something. There is nothing more on top of this. For example,

BE CAREFUL:  Since superlatives represents the highest of the highest, do not add words such as más, for example, esta camisa es de más óptima calidad. Más is used in comparatives sentences such as Luisa es más lista que Catalina.

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Created by Silvana Mendez
Foreign Language Lab / University of Houston