Spanish Adjectives	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Masculine	alto	altos	grande	grandes
Feminine	alta	altas	grande	grandes

Adjectives
Adjectives describe nouns (people, places, things, or ideas).

Adjective Endings (refer to table above)
Most adjectives have four forms: Masculine Singular, Masculine Plural, Feminine Singular, and Feminine Plural.
Usually, adjectives that end in e or in a consonant have the same masculine and feminine forms.

Use of Adjectives
Adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. Sometimes they come before the noun (see Position of Adjectives), but they must agree in gender and quantity.

Use of Adjectives With Ser
Use the verb ser (to be) with adjectives to tell someone's/something's origin, ethnicity, nationality, profession, physical characteristics or qualities, or gender.

Examples
El carro es azul. - The car is blue.
Los niños son norteamericanos. - The children are North American.
El drama es cómico. - The play is funny (comical).

Use of Adjectives With Estar
Use the verb estar (to be) with adjectives to tell someone's/something's feelings, emotions, temporary condition, or location.

Examples
El carro está limpio. - The car is clean.
Los niños están en la América del Norte. - The children are in North America.
Pepito está aburrido. - Pepito is bored.

Position of Adjectives
Some adjectives usually come before the noun. Some may come before or after the noun. The adjective primero almost always comes before the noun. The adjectives bueno and malo may come before or after the noun.

Drop the final -o of primero, bueno, and malo before a masculine singular noun. Examples
un buen día - a good day
el primer día - the first day

Apply the regular endings for masculine plural and feminine singular and plural.

The adjective grande may come before or after the noun, but the meaning will be different depending on its position. When it comes before the noun it means "great". When it comes after the noun it means "big".
Examples
un gran hombre - a great man
un hombre grande a big man

Special Notes
Adjectives such as norteamericano (North American) are not capitalized.

Questions
What do you mean by gender and masculine and feminine?
   Nouns have gender in Spanish. See the noun page for more information.

Where can I find a list of Spanish Adjectives?
    There is a sample list below.

Vocabulary Home Page

Download AOL Instant Messenger