Los adjetivos en español

Sheila McCoyFloyd College

Adjectives are like mirrors:they reflect the gender andnumber of the noun they modify.

Adjective = Noun in form

Nouns have gender and numberin Spanish and so the adjective must reflect the same gender and number as its noun.

El chico simpáticoor

La chica simpática

or

Los chicos simpáticos

or

Las chicas simpáticas

Regular adjectives--those that end in o--change to the feminine by dropping the -o and adding -a; they thenchange to the plural by adding -s to either form:

alto

Masculine: Feminine:

Singular: alta

Plural: alto altas s

Most irregular adjectives--those that end in a letter other than o--only change the ending to indicate plurals. If the adjective ends in a consonant, theplural form adds -es.

Masculine: Feminine:

Singular

Plural

fácil fácil

fácil fáciles es

Some exceptions to the previous rules are adjectives of nationality and adjectives that end in -or or -z.

Adjectives of nationality that end in consonants add -a to formthe feminine singular, which then forms its plural by adding -s.

El chico japonésLa chica japonesa

El libro alemánLa revista alemana

El restaurante español

La cafetería española

Adjectives that end in -or add -a to form the feminine:

El estudiante trabajador

La estudiante trabajadora

Adjectives that end in -z change the -z to -c and then add -es to form the plural:

El estudiante feliz

Los estudiantes felices

La estudiante feliz

Las estudiantes felices

If more than one adjective modifies and follows a noun , you may connect them with the conjunction -y:

Una muchacha simpática y interesante

or

Un muchacho bajo y ágil

Remember that in Spanish , whether it followsor precedes the noun, the adjective must match the noun in gender and number:

(Adj)xy=Nxy

= (Adj)xy

Adj=adjective N= noun X=masculine or feminine

Y= singular or plural