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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 1

Adjectives are words that describe people, places, and things. In Spanish, descriptive adjectives are used with the verb ser to point out characteristics such as nationality, size, color, shape, personality, and appearance.

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ANTE TODO

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Descriptive adjectives

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 2

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Forms and agreement of adjectives

COMPARE & CONTRAST

In English, the forms of descriptive adjectives do not change to reflect the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun or pronoun they describe.

Juan is nice.

Elena is nice.

They are nice.

In Spanish, the forms of descriptive adjectives agree in gender and/or number with the nouns or pronouns they describe.

Juan es simpático.

Elena es simpática.

Ellos son simpáticos.

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 3

Adjectives that end in -o have four different forms. The feminine singular is formed by changing the -o to -a. The plural is formed by adding -s to the singular forms.

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Masculine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Feminine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

el muchacho alto

los muchachos altos

la muchacha alta

las muchachas altas

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 4

Adjectives that end in -e or a consonant have the same masculine and feminine forms.

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el chico inteligente el examen difícil

los chicos inteligentes los exámenes difíciles

la chica inteligente �la clase difícil

las chicas inteligentes las clases difíciles

Masculine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Feminine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 5

Adjectives that end in -or, like adjectives that end in -o, have four different forms.

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Masculine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Feminine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

el hombre trabajador

los hombres trabajadores

​

la mujer trabajadora

las mujeres trabajadoras

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 6

Adjectives that refer to nouns of different genders use the masculine plural form.

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Manuel es alto.

Lola es alta.

Manuel y Lola son altos.

Common adjectives

alto/a

antipático/a

bajo/a

​

bonito/a

bueno/a

delgado/a

difícil

fácil

feo/a

tall

unpleasant

short (in

height)

pretty

good

thin; slender

hard; difficult

easy

ugly

gordo/a

grande

guapo/a

importante

inteligente

interesante

joven

(jóvenes)

malo/a

mismo/a

fat

big; large

good-looking

important

intelligent

interesting

young

​

bad

same

moreno/a

mucho/a

​

pelirrojo/a

pequeño/a

rubio/a

simpático/a

tonto/a

trabajador(a)

viejo/a

brunet(te)

much; many;

a lot of

red-haired

small

blond(e)

nice; likeable

silly; foolish

hard-working

old

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 7

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Colors

amarillo/a

azul

blanco/a

yellow

blue

white

negro/a

rojo/a

verde

black

red

green

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 8

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Some adjectives of nationality

In Spanish, country names are capitalized, but adjectives of nationality are not.

Some adjectives of nationality

alemán, alemana

argentino/a

canadiense

chino/a

costarricense

cubano/a

ecuatoriano/a

español(a)

estadounidense

German

Argentine

Canadian

Chinese

Costa Rican

Cuban

Ecuadorian

Spanish

from the U.S.

francés, francesa

inglés, inglesa

italiano/a

japonés, japonesa

mexicano/a

norteamericano/a

puertorriqueño/a

ruso/a

French

English

Italian

Japanese

​

Mexican

(North) American

Puerto Rican

Russian

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 9

Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant form the feminine by adding -a.

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japonés

japonesa

español

española

Adjectives of color and nationality are formed like other descriptive adjectives.

Masculine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Feminine

SINGULAR

PLURAL

argentino

azul

verde

argentinos

azules

verdes

argentina

azul

verde

argentinas

azules

verdes

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 10

¡Atención! Note that adjectives with an accent on the last syllable drop the accent in the feminine and plural forms.

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Inglés

​

alemán

Inglesa

​

alemanes

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 11

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Position of adjectives

Descriptive adjectives and adjectives of nationality generally follow the nouns they modify.

El niño rubio es de España.

The blond boy is from Spain.

La mujer española habla inglés.

The Spanish woman speaks English.

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 12

Unlike descriptive adjectives, adjectives of quantity precede the modified noun.

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Hay muchos libros en la biblioteca.

There are many books in the library.

Hablo con dos turistas puertorriqueños.

I am talking with two Puerto Rican tourists.

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 13

Bueno/a and malo/a can appear before or after a noun. When placed before a masculine singular noun, the forms are shortened: Bueno buen; malo mal.

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Joaquín es un buen amigo.

Joaquín es un amigo bueno.

Joaquín is a good friend.

Hoy es un mal día.

Hoy es un día malo.

Today is a bad day.

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 14

When grande appears before a singular noun, it is shortened to gran, and the meaning of the word changes: gran = great and grande = big, large.

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Don Francisco es un gran hombre.

Don Francisco is a great man.

La familia de Inés es grande.

Inés’ family is large.

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 15

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Provide the appropriate forms of the adjectives.

¡INTÉNTALO!

simpático

alemán

1. Mi hermano es simpático ___________.

2. La profesora Martínez es___________.

3. Rosa y Teresa son ___________.

4. Nosotros somos ___________.

1. Hans es alemán ___________.

2. Mis primas son ___________.

3. Marcus y yo somos ___________.

4. Mi tía es ___________.

simpático

alemán

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Descriptive adjectives, silde # 16

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¡INTÉNTALO!

Provide the appropriate forms of the adjectives. (cont.)

azul

guapo

1. La calculadora es ___________.

2. El papel es ___________.

3. Las maletas son ___________.

4. Los libros son ___________.

1. Su esposo es guapo ___________.

2. Mis sobrinas son ___________.

3. Los padres de ella son ___________.

4. Marta es ___________.

azul

guapo

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