Authors: Julie Gutin
The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) (11 page)
The correct endings here are –a (feminine/singular), –es (masculine/plural), and –as (feminine/plural).
Switching Places
In English, adjectives always precede the noun they modify, but the same is not necessarily true in Spanish. Generally, qualifying adjectives come after the noun and determinant adjectives appear before the noun:
| cosas bonitas | pretty things (qualifying adjective) |
| otras cosas | other things (determinant adjective) |
When a noun is modified by two kinds of adjectives, each adjective will stay in its designated place:
| otras cosas bonitas | other pretty things |
If both adjectives are qualifying adjectives, the two are connected with
y
(and):
| cosas raras y bonitas | rare and pretty things |
However, if you wish to emphasize one of the adjectives, drop the
y
and place the more important adjective last:
| cosas raras bonitas | rare things that are pretty |
| cosas bonitas raras | pretty things that are rare |
Moving It Up
Sometimes a qualifying adjective may be moved to precede the noun it modifies. This is often the case when the adjective points to an inherent or obvious characteristic and may be thought of as part of a noun phrase, and it doesn’t add any new information to the phrase:
| el caliente sol | the hot sun |
| el triste lamento | the sad lament |
ESSENTIAL
The following adjectives drop the final –o when they appear before the noun in the masculine/singular form:
bueno/buen
(good),
malo/mal
(bad),
primero/primer
(first),
tercero/tercer
(third),
alguno/algún
(some),
ninguno
/
ningún
(neither),
grande/gran
(big, great)
cualquiera/cualquier
(whichever).
However, if you wished to emphasize how hot the sun is or how sad the lament, you would move the adjective to the end:
el sol caliente, el lamento triste.
Adjectives indicating subjective judgment or describing abstract nouns may also be moved to precede the noun. This is especially true of
bueno, malo, mejor,
peor, grande,
and
pequeño
:
| el pequeño pueblo | the small town |
| la mala suerte | bad luck |
Some adjectives will have a slightly different meaning based on their location in relation to the noun. Eventually, you’ll be able to sense the difference in meaning, but for now it might be useful to commit the following examples to memory:
| adjective | before the noun | after the noun |
| antiguo | former | ancient |
| cierto | some | true, certain |
| diferente(s) | various | different |
| gran(de) | great | big |
| medio | half | average |
| mismo | same | himself, itself |
| nuevo | new (another) | new (brand new) |
| pobre | poor (unlucky) | poor (without money) |
| puro | nothing but, just | pure |
| simple | just, simply | simple |
| único | only | unique |
Adjectives of Nationality
One important subset of adjectives are the adjectives of nationality. These adjectives are formed from country names. Note that only adjectives that end in –a, –e, and –i in the masculine/singular form have two forms (singular and plural). The rest have four forms: add –a to feminine/singular adjectives, –os to masculine/plural, and –as to feminine/plural forms.
| country | adjective of nationality | English |
| Alemania | alemán | German |
| Argelia | argelino | Algerian |
| Argentina | argentino | Argentinean |
| Australia | australiano | Australian |
| Austria | austríaco | Austrian |
| Bélgica | belga | Belgian |
| Bolivia | boliviano | Bolivian |
| Brasil | brasileño | Brazilian |
| Canadá | canadiense | Canadian |
| Chile | chileno | Chilean |
| China | chino | Chinese |
| Colombia | colombiano | Colombian |
| Corea | coreano | Korean |
| Costa Rica | costarricense | Costa Rican |
| Cuba | cubano | Cuban |
| Dinamarca | danés | Danish |
| Ecuador | ecuatoriano | Ecuadorian |
| Egipto | egipcio | Egyptian |
| Escocia | escocés | Scottish |
| España | español | Spanish |
| Estados Unidos | estadounidense | American |
| Finlandia | finlandés | Finnish |
| Francia | francés | French |
| Grecia | griego | Greek |
| Guatemala | guatemalteco | Guatemalan |
| Haití | haitiano | Haitian |
| Holanda | holandés | Dutch |
| Honduras | hondureño | Honduran |
| Hungría | húngaro | Hungarian |
| India | indio, hindú | Indian |
| Inglaterra | inglés | English |
| Iraq | iraquí | Iraqi |
| Irán | iraní | Iranian |
| Irlanda | irlandés | Irish |
| Israel | israelí | Israeli |
| Japón | japonés | Japanese |
| Líbano | libanés | Lebanese |
| Marruecos | marroquí | Moroccan |
| México | mexicano | Mexican |
| Nicaragua | nicaragüense | Nicaraguan |
| Noruega | noruego | Norwegian |
| Nueva Zelanda | neocelandés | New Zealander |
| Panamá | panameño | Panamanian |
| Paraguay | paraguayo | Paraguayan |
| Perú | peruano | Peruvian |
| Polonia | polaco | Polish |
| Portugal | portugués | Portuguese |
| Puerto Rico | puertorriqueño | Puerto Rican |
| República Dominicana | dominicano | Dominican |
| Rusia | ruso | Russian |
| El Salvador | salvadoreño | Salvadoran |
| Sudán | sudanés | Sudanese |
| Suecia | sueco | Swedish |
| Suiza | suizo | Swiss |
| Tailandia | tailandés | Thai |
| Taiwán | taiwanés | Taiwanese |
| Turquía | turco | Turkish |
| Uruguay | uruguayo | Uruguayan |
| Venezuela | venezolano | Venezuelan |
| Vietnám | vietnamita | Vietnamese |
Making Comparisons
Adjectives in English as well as in Spanish may be presented in the comparative form. The following constructions may be used to indicate adjectival comparison:
| más + adjective + que | more + adjective + than |
| menos + adjective + que | less + adjective + than |
| tan + adjective + como | as + adjective + as |
Mi hermana es más simpática que la tuya.
My sister is nicer than yours.
Esta película es menos interesante que la de ayer.
This movie is less interesting than the one from yesterday.
