Gramatica

Adjective Placement Pg. 179 You will recall that adjectives are masculine or feminine and singular or plural and usually follow the nouns they modify. Era un tigre feroz. It was a fierce tiger. Los payasos del circo eran divertidos. The circus clowns were funny. Exceptions to this rule include demonstrative adjectives (este,ese, aquel), adjectives of quanity (mucho, poco), cardinal numbers (dos, tres), question-asking words (¿que?) and indefinite adjectives (otro). They precede the nouns they modify. Vimos pocos gorilas. We saw few gorilas. Habia seis elefantes en el circo. There were six elefants in the circus. El otro payaso es guatemalteco. The other clown is Guatemalan. Adjectives that describe a permanent characteristic often precede the noun they describe. La blanca nieve caía. The white snow was falling. Ordinal numbers usually precede a noun, although they may sometimes be used after a noun, especially in headings and for titles.

Adjective Placements cont. Note: Cardinal numbers precede ordinal numbers when both are used in one sentence to refer to the same noun. Este es el tercer circo del ano. This is the third circus of the year. Eran los dos primeros hombres en la fila. They were the first two men in the line. But: Juan Carlos I (Juan Carlos Primero) Juan Carlos I (Juan Carlos the First) Several common adjectives may be used before or after the nouns they describe.

Adjective Placements cont. Note: Before a masculine singular noun, bueno changes to buen and malo changes to mal. Era un buen circo. It was a good circus Era un circo bueno. Ella no era una mala acrobata. She was not a bad acrobat. Ella no era una acrobata mala. Some adjectives actually change their meaning according to whether they are used before or after a noun. For example, placed before a noun, grande may be the equivalent of great. (Before singulare nouns, grande changes to gran.) Placed after a noun, a form of grande conveys that someone or something is big. Es un gran circo. It is a great circus. Es un circo grande. It is a big circus. Here are other adjectives that change their meanings depending upon their placement before or after a noun. un amigo viejo an old (elderly) friend un viejo amigo an old (I have known him for a long time) friend. la chica pobre. the poor (without money) la pobre chica the poor (pitiful) girl.

Lo with adjectives/adverbs pg. 190 You have seen the word lo used as a direct object pronoun meaning him, it or you. Lo can also be used with an adjective or adverb followed by the word que as an equivalent for how ( + adjective/adverb ). ¿Sabes lo grande que es el establo? Do you know how big the stable is? Uds saben lo mucho que me gustan los bosques. You know how much I like the forest. Note: Although the form of the adjective may change, the word lo remains the same in each example.

Special endings: isimo/a and ito/ita Pg. 176 Adding an ending to an adjective or noun can have special significance in Spanish. For example, when you would use “very,” “most” or “extremely” with an adjective in English, the ending -ísimo (and the variations –ísima, -ísimos and –ísimas) often can be added to an adjective in Spanish. For adjectives that end in a vowel, the appropriate –ísimo ending usually replaces the final vowel. Ése es un león grande. That is a big lion. Ése en un león grandísimo. That is a very big lion. But: El oso era pequeño. The bear was small. El oso era pequeñísimo. The bear was very small.

Special endings: isimo/a and ito/ita For adjectives that end in –ble, change the –ble to –bil before adding the –ísimio ending. Ese malabarista era amable. That juggler was nice. Ese malabarista era amabilísimo. That juggler was very nice. Adjectives with an accent mark lose the accent mark when an –ísimio ending is added. Las trapecistas eran rápidas. The trapeze artists were fast. Las trapecistas era n rapidísimas. The trapeze artists were very fast. Attach the appropriate form of –ísimio/a directly to the end of adjectives that end in a consonant, but first remove any plural ending before adding –ísimio/a.

Special endings: isimo/a and ito/ita Attach the appropriate form of –ísimio/a directly to the end of adjectives that end in a consonant, but first remove any plural ending before adding –ísimio/a. Era fácil jugar con los payasos. It was easy to play with the clowns. Era facilísimo jugar con los payasos. It was very easy to play with the clowns. But: La banda tocaba cosas difíciles. The band played difficult things. La banda tocaba cosas dificilísimas. The band played extremely difficult things. Adjectives that end in –co/-ca, -go/-ga, or –z require a spelling change when a form of –ísimio is added. c → qu: cómico → comiquísimo g → gu: Larga → larguísima z → c: feliz → felicísimo