Adjectives

Adjectives in Spanish, or "Adjetivos", are words that describe or modify nouns, providing more information about an object's size, color, shape, and various other qualities. This guide will explore the basics of using adjectives in Spanish, including their agreement rules and placement in sentences.

Overview

Adjectives in Spanish must agree with the nouns they describe in both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This alignment is crucial for the grammatical correctness of the language.

Types of Adjectives

Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives specify traits, qualities, or states of nouns.

Examples:
- Grande (big)
- Pequeño (small)
- Feliz (happy)
- Triste (sad)

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives point out nouns in terms of their location relative to the speaker.

Examples:
- Este libro (this book)
- Esa casa (that house)
- Aquellos niños (those children over there)

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate ownership.

Examples:
- Mi carro (my car)
- Tus flores (your flowers)
- Nuestro perro (our dog)

Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are used in questions concerning nouns.

Examples:
- ¿Qué libro? (Which book?)
- ¿Cuántos amigos? (How many friends?)

Quantitative Adjectives

Quantitative adjectives describe the quantity of nouns.

Examples:
- Algunos libros (some books)
- Muchas manzanas (many apples)
- Pocos días (few days)

Agreement of Adjectives

The adjective must match the gender and number of the noun it modifies. This may require altering the ending of the adjective.

Masculine to Feminine:

El niño es alto. (The boy is tall.)
La niña es alta. (The girl is tall.)
Singular to Plural:

El gato es blanco. (The cat is white.)
Los gatos son blancos. (The cats are white.)

Placement of Adjectives

In Spanish, adjectives typically follow the noun they describe, unlike in English where adjectives usually precede the noun.

Example:

Un coche rápido (A fast car)
Una casa grande (A big house)