We’ve been focusing on nouns for a while now.
First, in The Sexualization of Nouns, we learned that nouns in Spanish are either masculine,
feminine or both.
Then in Plural Forms of Nouns, we discovered that nouns, just like in English, can be singular
or plural.
So there are four different forms of nouns.
Finally in Definite & Indefinite Articles we saw that the form of the noun dictates
which form of “the” or “a” or “an” or “some” should be used.
So, “boy” is “chico”, “the boy” is “el chico” and “a boy” is “un
chico”.
But “girl” is “chica”, “the girl” is “la chica” and “a girl” is “una
chica”.
If any of that doesn’t make perfect sense, go back and watch those lessons now, then
come back here--today’s lesson will be much easier if you do.
Hola, yo soy Jordan and this is a Spanish Quickie--fast, easy Spanish lessons from somebody
who speaks your language.
Today we’re talking about adjectives.
But before we jump into the different forms, I want to tell you something important.
Adjectives in Spanish usually follow the noun--that’s the opposite of English.
In English, we would say “small boy”.
But in Spanish, they’d say the equivalent of “boy small”.
“Small” is “pequeño” and you should know by now that “boy” is “chico”.
So in Spanish, “small boy” is “chico pequeño”.
This is a little weird at first, but not that difficult.
Think about it, it would be much harder to go the other way.
If you were used to saying the adjective after the noun, then all of a sudden had to put
it before the noun, you would have to think ahead.
So with adjectives, we Gringos actually get more time to think.
Cool!
But don’t think that you have to get this right to be understood.
Definitely not.
If you always put the adjective incorrectly before the noun, it would just be the equivalent
of saying “boy good” instead of “good boy”.
You’d understand that, right?
Now, the forms of adjectives.
Just like Definite and Indefinite Articles, adjectives have to match the noun they’re
describing.
So in our “chico pequeño” example from before.
“Chico” is the noun--it’s masculine, singular.
So we have to make “pequeño” match--it has to be masculine, singular too.
Fortunately, adjectives pretty much follow the same rules as nouns.
Remember, if a noun ends in O, it’s almost always masculine and if it ends in A, it’s
usually feminine.
If you want to take a masculine adjective like “pequeño” and make it feminine,
you just change the O at the end to A and you’re done--so “pequeña”.
A “small girl” would be “chica pequeña”.
Make sense?
The word on my shirt is “lindo”.
That means “cute”.
That’s the singular, masculine version.
The singular, feminine version would be “linda”.
So a “cute boy” would be “chico lindo” and a cute girl would be “chica linda”.
You didn’t expect me to write “FEO” on my shirt, did you?
“Ugly?”
Now, not ALL adjectives have a masculine and feminine form.
If the word ends in E or a consonant, it doesn’t--it has one form used for both masculine and feminine.
So “smart boy” would be “chico inteligente” but a “smart girl” would be “chica inteligente”.
Notice “inteligente” is used for both “boy” and “girl”.
It ends in E, so it doesn’t change.
Another example.
A “popular boy” would be “chico popular” and a “popular girl” would be “chica
popular”.
Again, notice that “popular” is used for both “chico” and “chica”.
It ends in a consonant, R, so it doesn’t change either.
To make a male adjective feminine, change the O to an A at the end.
If the adjective ends in an E or a consonant, don’t change it all.
Next.
Singular, plural.
This also works like nouns.
Remember, to make a singular noun plural, you either add an S or ES to the end.
If it ends in a consonant, you add an ES.
If it ends in a vowel, you just add S. It works like this without exception.
“Small boy” is “chico pequeño” so “small boys” would be “chicos pequeños”.
“Pequeño” ends in a vowel, so we add S to the end to make it plural.
“Small girl” is “chica pequeña” so “small girls” would be “chicas pequeñas”.
“Smart boy” is “chico inteligente” so “smart boys” would be “chicos inteligentes”.
Then “smart girls” would be “chicas inteligentes”.
Notice the use of “inteligentes” for both “chicos” and “chicas”.
Since “inteligente” ends in E, it doesn’t have a feminine form, remember, but all adjectives
have a plural form.
In this case, just add S because “inteligente” ends in a vowel, “inteligentes”.
Last examples, then we’re out of here and you’ll know how to use adjectives in Spanish.
A “popular boy” remember is “chico popular”.
Since “popular” ends in a consonant, it doesn’t have a female form, just add ES
to the end to make it plural.
So “popular boys” is “chicos populares” and “popular girls” is “chicas populares”.
That’s it.
I hope I made this clear.
Any questions, please leave a comment below or email me anytime at jordan@gringoespanol.com.
Like I’ve said several times, learn these rules, but then don’t think about them too
much.
You’re much better off just practicing and using it and not overthinking it.
Once you get going, you’ll notice that, even though it might seem complicated right
now, when you say it right, it kinda just rolls of the tongue...most the words end similarly.
“Chicos pequeños”.
“Chicas pequeñas”.
After a while, it’ll sound weird to say “chicos pequeñas”.
Okay, here’s what I want you to do now.
Go to gringoespanol.com/adjectives and do the Adjectives Worksheet.
This Worksheet is a little different than the others.
Since we haven’t really learned that many adjectives yet, I took the opportunity in
this worksheet to introduce to you ten of the most common.
I suggest employing The Flashcard Strategy to learn the words first, then do the Worksheet.
With Spanish, once you get behind, it’s hard to catch up, so don’t be a “chico
malo” (bad boy) or a “chica mala” (bad girl)--go to gringoespanol.com/adjectives
right now, learn the words, then do the Worksheet.
And while you’re there, if I were you, I’d sign up for those free updates.
I’ve been emailing out the Gringo Español Newsletter on a weekly basis with links to
all the lessons from that week and resources (including Audio Flashcards) that don’t
get announced on Facebook or YouTube.
Everything’s on the site for everybody, but the people on the Newsletter List, get
nicely organized links to everything I added that week.
So if you miss a video or a post here and there, you’re still covered.
Until the next time, hasta luego.
Adiós amigo!