BASIC SPANISH: A GRAMMAR AND WORKBOOK

UNIT SEVEN

Unit 7 Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives

An adjective is a word which describes attributes or characteristics of a person, place or
thing (i.e. a noun) for example:

a black dog

(‘dog’ is the noun, ‘black’ is the adjective describing the noun)

an aggressive person

(‘person’ is the noun, ‘aggressive’ is the adjective describing the noun)

an exciting city

(‘city’ is the noun, ‘exciting’ is the adjective describing the noun)

Adjectives in Spanish usually change their endings to match the number and gender of
the noun they are describing.
Adjectives ending in -o in the masculine singular normally have three other forms:
masc. sing. rojo un coche rojo
masc. pl. rojos unos coches rojos
fem. sing. roja una rosa roja
fem. pl. rojas unas rosas rojas

Adjectives ending in -e have no separate feminine form in the singular of plural:
masc. sing. inteligente un niño inteligente
fem. sing. inteligente una niña inteligente
masc. pl. inteligentes unos niños inteligentes
fem. pl. inteligentes unas niñas inteligentes

Similarly adjectives that end in a consonant usually have no separate feminine form in the
singular or plural:
masc. sing. gris un gato gris
fem. sing. gris una silla gris
masc. pl. grises unos zapatos grises