Spanish adjectives

The Spanish language uses adjectives in a similar way to English and most other Indo-European languages. Spanish adjectives usually go after the noun they modify, and they agree with what they refer to in terms of both number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine).

Spanish adjectives are very similar to nouns, and often interchangeable with them. A bare adjective can take an article and be used in the same place as a noun (where English would require nominalization using the pronoun "one(s)"). For example:

:"El rojo va aquí/acá, ¿no?" = "The red one goes here, doesn't it?":"Hay que tirar las estropeadas" = "We have to throw away the broken ones."

Agreement

Adjectives in Spanish can mostly be divided into two large groups: those that can be found in the dictionary ending in "o", and the others. The former typically agree for number and gender; the latter typically agree just for number. Here are some examples:

"Frío" means "cold". This is the dictionary form, and it corresponds to the masculine singular form. When it agrees with a feminine noun, it becomes "fría". When it agrees with a plural noun, it becomes "fríos". When it agrees with a noun which is both feminine and plural, it becomes "frías". Here is a list of a few common adjectives in their four forms:

*"Frío" = "cold"; → "frío, fría, fríos, frías"
*"Pequeño" = "small"; → "pequeño, pequeña, pequeños, pequeñas"
*"Rojo" = "red"; → "rojo, roja, rojos, rojas"

Identifying Adjectives Diagram

Does Adjective End in "o"? / / Yes No / / / / Masculine? Feminine? Singular? (No Change)("o" becomes "a") (No Change) / / Plural Plural / (Add "s") / End in Vowel? (Add "s") End in Consonant? (Add "es")

Here are a few common adjectives that agree only in number:

*"Caliente" = "hot" → "caliente, caliente, calientes, calientes"
*"Formal" = "formal" → "formal, formal, formales, formales"
*"Verde" = "green" → "verde, verde, verdes, verdes"

The division into these two groups is a generalisation however. There are many examples such as the adjective "español" itself which does not end in "o" but nevertheless adds an "a" for the feminine and has four forms ("español, española, españoles, españolas"). There are also adjectives that do not agree at all (generally words borrowed from other languages, such as the French "beige" (also Hispanicised to "beis")).

Descriptive and attributive uses

The superlative

Instead of putting "muy", "very" before an adjective, one can use a special form called the superlative to intensify an idea. This consists of the suffix "-ísimo".

;Regular forms:
*"muy rápido" → "rapidísimo"
*"muy guapas" → "guapísimas"
*"muy rica" → "riquísima"
*"muy lento" → "lentísimo"
*"muy duro" → "durísimo"

;Irregular forms:
*"muy antiguo" → "antiquísimo"
*"muy cursi" → "cursilísimo"
*"muy inferior" → "ínfimo"
*"muy joven" → "jovencísimo"
*"muy superior" → "supremo"
*"muy bueno" → "óptimo" ("buenísimo" is more common, and there's the unusual "bonísimo")
*"muy malo" → "pésimo" ("malísimo" is more common)
*"muy grande" → "máximo" * ("grandísimo" is more common)
*"muy pequeño" → "mínimo" * ("pequeñísimo" is more common)

(*) These two forms keep the original meaning of the superlative: not "very" but "the most".

;Forms that are irregular in high literary style, and regular normally:
*"muy amigo" → "amicísimo" / "amiguísimo"
*"muy áspero" → "aspérrimo" / "asperísimo"
*"muy benévolo" → "benevolentísimo" / not used
*"muy célebre" → "celebérrimo" / not used
*"muy cruel" → "crudelísimo" / "cruelísimo"
*"muy fácil" → "facílimo" / "facilísimo"
*"muy fiel" → "fidelísimo" / "fielísimo"
*"muy frío" → "frigidísimo" / "friísimo"
*"muy íntegro" → "integérrimo" / "integrísimo"
*"muy libre" → "libérrimo" / "librísimo" (familiar)
*"muy magnífico" → "magnificentísimo" / not used
*"muy mísero" → "misérrimo" / not used
*"muy munífico" → "munificentísimo" / not used
*"muy pobre" → "paupérrimo" / "pobrísimo"
*"muy sabio" → "sapientísimo" / not used
*"muy sagrado" → "sacratísimo" / not used

;Forms that are not felt a superlative anymore
*"muy agrio" ("very bitter") → "acérrimo" ("strong, zealous, fanatic")

Applying "-ísimo" to nouns is not frequent, but there is the famous case of Generalísimo.

As in English and other languages influenced by it, a teenspeak superlative can be formed by the prefix "super-", or sometimes "hiper-", "ultra-", "re-" or "requete-". They can also be written as adverbs separate from the word.
*"Superlargo" or "súper largo" = "super-long", "way long"

External links

* [http://www.webworkbooks.com/spanish/grammar/adjectives.php WebWorkbooks: Spanish Adjectives]