Adjectives

Spanish adjectives change their endings to match the noun they describe, and they usually come after it. This guide covers agreement, where adjectives go, comparisons, and how to make words like buenísimo and rápidamente.

Adjectives Ending in -o: Four Forms

An adjective agrees with its noun in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). Adjectives ending in -o have four forms:

Adjectives Ending in -e or a Consonant: Two Forms

These adjectives are the same for masculine and feminine. They have one form for the singular and one for the plural: add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant.

• un hombre importante, una mujer importante - an important man, an important woman
• un examen difícil, unas preguntas difíciles - a hard exam, some hard questions
• un niño feliz, unas niñas felices - a happy boy, some happy girls (z becomes c before -es)

Exceptions: -or and Nationalities

Adjectives ending in -or add -a for the feminine, so they have four forms: un hombre trabajador, una mujer trabajadora (a hard-working man, a hard-working woman). Comparison words like mejor and mayor don’t do this: una mejor idea (a better idea).

Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant also have four forms: un libro inglés, una película inglesa, unos amigos ingleses. The written accent disappears once the word gets longer.

Mixed Groups

When an adjective describes a mix of masculine and feminine nouns, use the masculine plural: El padre y la madre están cansados. - The father and mother are tired.

Where Adjectives Go

Most adjectives come after the noun, the opposite of English:

• un carro rojo - a red car
• una ciudad grande - a big city

Words for quantity and order come before the noun: mucho tiempo (a lot of time), poca gente (few people), otro día (another day), cada semana (every week), la última vez (the last time).

Position Can Change the Meaning

A few adjectives mean something different before the noun:

Short Forms: Buen, Mal, Gran

A few adjectives lose their ending right before a masculine singular noun:

• bueno becomes buen: un buen amigo - a good friend (but una buena amiga)
• malo becomes mal: un mal día - a bad day
• primero becomes primer: el primer año - the first year
• tercero becomes tercer: el tercer piso - the third floor

Grande becomes gran before any singular noun, and then it usually means "great" rather than "big": un gran hombre (a great man) but un hombre grande (a big man).

Comparing: More and the Most

To compare two things, put más (more) or menos (less) before the adjective and que (than) after it:

• Mi hermano es más alto que yo. - My brother is taller than I am.

For "the most", add the article: el más, la más, los más, las más. Use de for "in" or "of":

• Ella es la más inteligente de la clase. - She’s the most intelligent in the class.

A few adjectives have their own forms: mejor (better, best), peor (worse, worst), mayor (older), menor (younger). Es el mejor día de mi vida. - It’s the best day of my life.

-ísimo: Really, Really

To say "very" with extra feeling, drop the final vowel (if there is one) and add -ísimo. It agrees like any -o adjective:

• bueno → buenísimo: La comida está buenísima. - The food is really good.
• lindo → lindísimo - really pretty
• fácil → facilísimo - super easy

Any other written accent drops, because -ísimo carries the stress: rápido → rapidísimo, difícil → dificilísimo. Some spellings change to keep the sound: rico → riquísimo, largo → larguísimo, feliz → felicísimo.

-mente: Making Adverbs

Spanish -mente works like English "-ly". Add it to the feminine singular form:

• rápido → rápida → rápidamente - quickly
• lento → lenta → lentamente - slowly
• fácil → fácilmente - easily
• triste → tristemente - sadly

The adjective keeps its written accent: rápidamente, fácilmente. Two important exceptions: the adverb of bueno is bien (well), and the adverb of malo is mal (badly). Hablas muy bien. - You speak very well.