About adjectives in Spanish. Just the facts! About adjectives in Spanish.

OK, so what’s the scoop on adjectives

You know that nouns in Spanish have gender. masculine el libro el muchacho feminine la casa la muchacha

They also have number. singular el libro la muchacha plural los libros las muchachas

Well, here’s the way it is Well, here’s the way it is...adjectives have to agree with whatever they tell about!

The noun is masculine, then the adjective is masculine

The noun is feminine, then the adjective is feminine

The noun is singular, then the adjective is singular.

The noun is plural, then the adjective is plural.

What if the noun is feminine AND plural?

Then the adjective is feminine and plural.

Are you telling me that this is like an equation in math?

Yeah, yeah.... Kinda like that..... masculine noun = masculine adjective feminine noun = feminine adjective singular noun = singular adjective plural noun = plural adjective Kinda like that.....

OK, give me some more facts.

Let’s check out how to talk about a boy, then a girl. el muchacho alto la muchacha alta

What about more than one boy and more than one girl? los muchachos altos las muchachas altas

Many common adjectives end in -o. These adjectives have four forms Many common adjectives end in -o. These adjectives have four forms. The following words all mean “red:” rojo roja rojos rojas

el teléfono rojo la casa roja los teléfonos rojos las casas rojas The correct form of the adjective depends upon the noun it modifies. Is the noun masculine or feminine? Singular or plural? el teléfono rojo la casa roja los teléfonos rojos las casas rojas

Notice how the endings are the same: el teléfono rojo la casa roja los teléfonos rojos las casas rojas

What about adjectives that end in e... like inteligente?

Easy. Adjectives that end in -e also change form for singular or plural. To form the plural, simply add -s la muchacha inteligente las muchachas inteligentes

Easier yet...adjectives that end in -e do not change form for masculine or feminine. el muchacho inteligente la muchacha inteligente los muchachos inteligentes las muchachas inteligentes

In much the same way, most adjectives that end in a consonant do change form for singular or plural, but do not change for masculine or feminine. To form the plural, add -es. el muchacho popular la muchacha popular los muchachos populares las muchachas populares

OK...let’s wrap up this story. Give me the 411.

Here it is... Adjectives ending in -o have four forms: alto, alta, altos, altas Adjectives ending in -e have two forms: inteligente, inteligentes (form plural by adding –s) Most adjectives ending in a consonant have two forms: popular, populares (form plural by adding -es)