Adjectives agree and usually follow the noun
un coche nuevo, una casa nueva, unos coches nuevos: adjectives match the noun and come after it.
Part of the free A0 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
What an adjective is
An adjective is a describing word: big, new, nice, easy. In Spanish an adjective agrees with its noun: it takes the same gender (masculine or feminine, Masculine and feminine nouns) and the same number (singular or plural, Making plurals: -s, -es, z → ces).
The adjective usually comes after the noun
English says a new car. Spanish normally says a car new:
- Tengo un coche nuevo.I have a new car.
- Es una ciudad bonita.It's a pretty city.
- Es un libro interesante.It's an interesting book.
A few very common adjectives (bueno, malo, grande, and numbers) can go in front of the noun, sometimes with a change of form or meaning. That comes in Shortened adjectives: buen, mal, gran, primer. For now: after the noun.
Adjectives ending in -o: four forms
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | alto | alta |
| plural | altos | altas |
- Elena es alta.Elena is tall.
- Las chicas son muy simpáticas.The girls are very nice.
- Los tomates son baratos.The tomatoes are cheap.
Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant: two forms
They don't change for gender, only for number (add -s after -e, -es after a consonant):
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| grande, interesante | grandes, interesantes |
| fácil, difícil | fáciles, difíciles |
| joven | jóvenes |
- El examen es fácil.The exam is easy.
- Son unas preguntas difíciles.They're difficult questions.
Exception: nationalities (Nationalities and languages) and words ending in -or do have a feminine: inglés → inglesa, trabajador → trabajadora (hard-working).
- Es una película inglesa.It's an English film.
Mixed groups
A man and a woman together take the masculine plural:
- Juan y María son altos.Juan and María are tall.
With ser and estar
The adjective also agrees when it comes after ser or estar: La casa es pequeña. Los niños están cansados.
Useful adjectives: grande (big), pequeño (small), nuevo (new), viejo (old), bonito (pretty), simpático (nice, friendly), caro (expensive), barato (cheap), fácil (easy), difícil (hard), bueno (good), malo (bad).
Common mistakes
una ciudad bonito→ una ciudad bonita. The adjective takes the noun's gender.las chicas son simpáticos→ simpáticas. Gender and number both agree.un libro interesanto→ interesante. Adjectives in -e have no -o/-a forms.unos exámenes fácils→ fáciles. After a consonant, add -es.- Putting the adjective first by default: say una casa bonita. Una bonita casa is not wrong, but it sounds more literary; after the noun is the normal place.
Practice
- una casa _____Options: pequeña · pequeño · pequeñas · pequeños
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pequeña
- unos coches _____ (caro)
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caros
- Las camas son _____. (grande)
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grandes
- How do you say an interesting film?Options: una película interesante · película interesante una · una película interesanta · un película interesante
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una película interesante — Película is feminine (una), the adjective follows the noun, and interesante has no -a form.