Adjectives in Spanish modify nouns to provide additional information about their properties or qualities, similarly to English. They can be placed before or after the noun, or separated from it. Adjectives agree with the gender and number of the nouns they describe. There are positive, comparative, and superlative forms to indicate different levels or degrees of a quality. Common types of Spanish adjectives include descriptive adjectives, demonyms, pronominal adjectives, and others derived from verbs or nouns.

1. What are adjectives in Spanish used for?
Similarly to English Grammar, adjectives in Spanish belong to a class of words that modifies a
noun, denoting its properties or qualities.
An adjective provides additional information about the subject -- such as shape, color, age,
temperature, and size. Demonstrative adjectives in Spanish also describe bits of material that
note the person, animal, object, or place that we are talking about.
Examples:
• Mi esposo maneja un coche rojo. – My husband drives a red car.
• Su mejor amigo Fernando murió ayer. – His best friend Fernando died yesterday.
Those who master the language and possess an agile pen, combined with a distinctive style such
as poets, are able to convey an extraordinary meaning to any class of words.

2. Look at the beautiful extract below from the poet José Gorostiza. His poem is about the seashore
and he chooses the word sonora (sonorous) to describe agua (water).
The sound of water creates a striking image of the waves pounding against the sand in the
reader’s mind.
El agua sonora
de espuma sencilla,
el agua no puede
formarse la orilla.
Y porque descanse
en muelle lugar,
no es agua ni arena
la orilla del mar.
Where are Spanish Adjectives placed?
Within the English sentence structure, the adjective is usually located before the noun but in
Spanish it can be placed before or after; it can also be separated by a verb, an adverb or a
preposition.

3. • AFTER NOUN: Ramas verdes - Green branches
• BEFORE NOUN: El solitario monje - The lonely monk
• AFTER VERB: Nuestra huerta es generosa – Our orchard is generous
• AFTER ADVERB: La sopa está muy sabrosa – The soup is very tasty
• AFTER PREPOSITION: He pintado la casa de blanco – I’ve painted the house in white
The location freedom that Spanish adjectives enjoy allows the speaker or writer to emphasize a
particular intention even in ordinary speech or writing.
Do Adjectives in Spanish Have Gender?
There is a rule of concordance of gender (feminine and masculine) and number (singular and
plural).
Look at how the adjective agrees with the gender and quantity of the noun, in this case a person
or group of people, which is highlighted in red.
SPANISH ENGLISH
Niña bonita Beautiful girl
Niño bonito Beautiful boy
Niñas bnonitas Beautiful girls
Niños bonitos Beautiful boys
In this more complex sentence the concordance still stands:
• En la estrecha avenida que da al norte del pueblo hay muchos árboles frondosos que
ofrecen una fresca sombra al conductor. – On the narrow avenue at the north of the
town there are many leafy trees that offer a cool shade to the driver.
Exceptions to the concordance rule:
• If an adjective refers to two or more singular nouns it should be used in plural. -- La
carne y el pescado frescos deben consumirse pronto. (Fresh meat and fish must be
consumed soon.)
• If an adjective refers to two nouns, one masculine and one feminine, it should be used in
its masculine form and in plural. -- El caballo y la cebra son equinos preciosos. (The
horse and the zebra are lovely equines.)
• There are neutral or “genderless” Spanish adjectives which are applied equally for both
masculine and feminine nouns and pronouns. You can see some of the most common
listed below.
SPANISH ENGLISH

4. Alegre Cheerful
Gentil Gentle
Inteligente Inteligent
Valiente Brave
Feliz Happy
Triste Sad
What are Spanish Adjective Degrees?
The degree of the adjective expresses the intensity of the quality to which the adjective refers:
positive, comparative, superlative.
POSITIVO/POSITIVE:
It expresses the basic quality.
• Ramón es alto – Ramón is tall

5. COMPARATIVO/COMPARATIVE:
It expresses a level of superiority, equality or inferiority when comparing two or more nouns.
• SUPERIORITY: Ramón es más alto que Carlos – Ramón is taller than Carlos
• EQUALITY: Ramón es tan alto como Hugo – Ramón is as tall as Hugo
• INFERIORITY: Ramón es menos alto que Diego – Ramón es less tall than Diego.
The basic formula:
más (more)+ adjective + que
tan (as) + adjective + como
menos (less) + adjective + que
SUPERLATIVO/SUPERLATIVE:
It expresses the highest degree either as a total (absolute) or as in relation to a context (relative).
ABSOLUTE: The absolute superlative has three possible forms, all grammatically correct.
• Ramón es muy alto – Ramón is very tall
• Ramón es altísimo – Ramón is hugely tall
• Ramón es sumamente alto – Ramón is extremely tall
RELATIVE: The relative superlative adjective establishes maximum superiority in the context
of a specific group.
• Ramón es el jugador más alto de su generación – Ramón is the tallest of his class.
• How Many Kinds of Spanish Adjectives are there?
The following is a simple classification of Spanish adjectives.
However, for a more rigorous catalog, visit the official grammar manual titled Nueva Gramática
de la Lengua Española, published by the Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española
(The Association of the Spanish Language Academies) and the Real Academia Española (Royal
Spanish Academy).
SPANI
SH
NAM
E
ENGLISH
TRANSLA
TION
KEY
SPANIS
H
EXAMP
LE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

6. 1
Calificativo
s
Calificati
ve
This
group
indicates
common
qualities
Hojas secas Dead leaves
1.1
Especificati
vos
Limiting
Indicates
a quality
that
differenti
ates the
noun
from a
group
Dientes afilados/dientes
podridos
Sharp teeth/rotting
teeth
1.2
Explicativo
s
Explanato
ry
Expresse
s a
quality
that the
noun
already
has for
literary
purposes
Blanca nieve White snow
2 Gentilicios
Demony
m or
gentilic
Denotes
country
of origin,
ethnic
group or
national
affiliatio
n
Mexicano/nicagaraguense/indíg
ena/panameño
Mexican/Nicaraguan
/
indigenous/Panaman
ian
3
Determinati
vos o
pronominal
es
Pronomin
al
This
group
refers to
time,
place,
and
order, as
well as
ownershi
p
Segundo/mío Second/mine
3.1
Demostrati
vos
Demonstr
ative
Indicates
both
spatial
and
chronolo
Esta, esa y aquella
This, that, and that
one

7. gical
proximit
y
3.2 Posesivos
Possessiv
e
Indicates
ownershi
p
Tuyo/suyo/nuestro Yours/his/ours
3.3
Algunos
numerales
Some
numerals
Include
some
ordinal
and
multiplic
ative
numbers
Primero/quinta/doble/triple
First/fifth/double/tri
ple
4
Sustantivad
os
Substanti
ve
The
adjective
is used as
a noun
Lo hermoso/el sabio
The beautiful/the
wise man
5 Verbales
Verbal
adjective
Originate
s from a
verb
Cansada/meditabundo/fácil/amo
roso
Tired/meditative/eas
y/lovable
6
Sintagma
nominal
Nominal
syntagm
It is
created
from a
syntagm
or group
of words
Reunión familiar (reunión de
familia)
Family reunion
List of Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

8. As you can see from the list, possessive adjectives in Spanish indicate the owner of the noun they
modify. They always appear before or after the noun, contrary to possessive pronouns, which in
fact replace it.
SPANISH ENGLISH
Mi/mío/mía/míos/mías My/mine
Tu/tus/tuyo/tuya/tuyos/tuyas Your/yours
Su/sus/suyo/suya/suyos/suyas
Your/yours (formal Spanish in Latinamerica) + his/her/hers +
their/theirs
Vuestro/vuestra/vuestros/vuestras Your/yours (plural in Spain)
Nuestro/nuestra/nuestros/nuestras Our/ours
List of Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish
These are the most common demonstrative adjectives in Spanish:
SPANISH ENGLISH
Este/esto/esta This
Estos/estas These

9. Ese/eso/esa That
Esos/esas Those
Aquel/aquella That (way over there)
Aquellos/aquellas Those (way over there)
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