Small grammar overview of the Spanish adjectives
The adjectives usually accompany the nouns in order to describe or identify them in more detail.
In adjectives, the use of the verbs ser and estar plays a particularly important role.
The forms of the adjective
In the form the adjectives change just like the noun, i.e. they always adapt in number and sex to the noun:
Example:
| masculine:
el hombre bueno – los hombres buenos un perro lindo – unos perros buenos feminine: la camisa blanca – las camisas blancas la mujer simpática – las mujeres simpáticas |
the good man / the good men a pretty dog / some pretty dogs
the white shirt / the white shirts the sympathetic woman / the sympathetic women |
The adjectives can be summarized in two groups according to their form:
– All adjectives whose masculine form ends in the singular on -o have two or with the plural four different endings.
El perro blanco – so
La perra negra – los perros negros – las perras negras
– Adjectives on -e are equal in masculine and feminine form
Example:
| Un niño inteligente – unos niños inteligentes
Una niña inteligente – unas niñas inteligentes |
An intelligent boy – some intelligent boys
An intelligent girl – some intelligent girls |
Exception:
For adjectives ending in -án, -ín, -ón or –or, a suffix -a is appended in the feminine form.
According to the emphasis rules, the graphic accent in the feminine form as well as in the plural form is then omitted.
Example:
Holgazán – holgazana – sluggish
Parlachín – parlachina – talkatively
Cabezón – cabezona – bullheaded
Trabajador – trabajadora – diligent
For adjectives ending in -ete or -ote, the last vowel is replaced by -a.
Example:
Majete, majeta – nice
Grandote, grandota – big
For nationality adjectives that end in a consonant, a -a is appended to create the female form.
Example:
El jamón español – the Spanish ham
La cerveza española – the Spanish beer
In the case of nationalities, however, adjectives with the suffixes -e, -a, -í or -ú have the same form for both sexes, both in the singular and in the plural.
Example:
Árabe(s) – arab
Belga(s) – belgian
Marroquí(es) – moroccan
Bantú(es) – bantu language