Adjectives ending in -o: four forms
An English adjective has exactly one form: tall stays tall for a boy, a girl or a crowd. A Spanish adjective copies the gender (masculine/feminine) and the number (singular/plural) of its noun.
alto next to four different nouns
el chico alto
the tall boy
la chica alta
the tall girl
los chicos altos
the tall boys
las chicas altas
the tall girls
In a sentence
Tengo un coche nuevo.
I have a new car.
Las flores rojas son bonitas.
The red flowers are pretty.
Los niños son muy simpáticos.
The children are very nice.
Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant: two forms
If the base form ends in -e or in a consonant, there is usually no separate feminine form. These adjectives mark number only.
Only two forms
| Meaning | Singular (m/f) | Plural (m/f) |
|---|---|---|
| big | grande | grandes |
| easy | fácil | fáciles |
| blue | azul | azules |
| young | joven | jóvenes |
The plural is built as for nouns, including the accent in joven → jóvenes.
In a sentence
El chico es inteligente.
The boy is intelligent.
La chica es inteligente.
The girl is intelligent.
Los ejercicios son fáciles.
The exercises are easy.
Where does the adjective go?
A descriptive adjective normally comes after its noun. English puts it before, so the order is reversed: read the Spanish phrase from right to left to get the English one.
un coche rojo
a red car
una casa grande
a big house
un libro interesante
an interesting book
Quantity words like mucho and poco are the exception: they come before the noun and agree as well, as in muchos libros (many books) and pocas casas (few houses).
