Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and must agree with the thing they are describing. This
means that they must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine).
For example:
number -- la pluma azul
las plumas azules
gender -- el chico alto
la chica alta
In Spanish, adjectives change form according to one of these three situations:
1. If an adjective ends in an -o, then it has four forms (masculine singular, masculine plural,
feminine singular, feminine plural). Most adjectives fall into this category.
For example:
el libro rojo
la casa roja
los libros rojos
las casas rojas
2. If an adjective ends in an -a or an -e, the adjective has to agree with the object described in
number only and doesn't change gender.
For example:
Singular
un maestro realista
una maestra realista
Plural
unos maestros realistas
unas maestras realistas
el hombre inteligente
la mujer inteligente
los hombres inteligentes
las mujeres inteligentes
(Note that adjectives such as realista always end in -a.)
3. If an adjective ends in a consonant, add -es to make it plural. The adjective has to agree with
the object described in number only.
For example:
Singular
Plural
el cantante popular
los cantantes populares
la canción popular
las canciones populares
Note: Adjectives such as feliz have a spelling change in the plural form: felices
Normally in Spanish the noun comes first, and then the adjective.
Vivo en una casa blanca.
Necesito comprar un carro nuevo.
María hizo un pastel delicioso.
© 2011 Middlebury Interactive Languages. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only. No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Middlebury Interactive Languages. Remember that the form of the adjective depends on the noun it modifies, so ask yourself these
questions: Is the noun masculine or feminine? Is the noun singular or plural? That will help you
choose the right form.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Adverbs usually answer the questions "How," "In what way?," "When?," "Where?," and "To what
extent?"
You ran quickly.
the very tall man
I feel really well.
How did you run? You ran quickly. (adverb modifying a verb)
How tall is he? Very tall. (adverb modifying an adjective)
How do I feel? Really well. (adverb modifying an adverb)
Formation
Most Spanish adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of the
adjectives. This is the same as the -ly ending in English.
Adjective
rápido
serio
histórico
Feminine Form
rápida
seria
histórica
Adverb
rápidamente
seriamente
históricamente
Meaning
quickly
seriously
historically
However, if an adjective doesn't show a gender, then -mente is added right onto the end of the
adjective.
For example:
fácil
fácilmente
feliz
felizmente
amable
amablemente
suave
suavemente
When two adverbs modify the same verb, the first adverb is changed to the feminine form and
only the second adverb uses -mente.
Ella corrió lenta y cuidadosamente.
Pablo habló clara y amablemente.
Other Adverbs
Here is a list of other common adverbs:
bastante
quite
demasiado
too, too much
mal
badly
mucho
a lot
muy
very
She ran slowly and carefully.
Pablo spoke clearly and kindly.
nunca
peor
poco
siempre
never
worse
a little
always
Note: Some of these can also function as adjectives, but when used as adverbs they do not change
according to number and gender.
© 2011 Middlebury Interactive Languages. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only. No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of Middlebury Interactive Languages.