Adjectives and adverbs
Agreement, where an adjective goes, nationalities, and adverbs with -mente.
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Adjectives and adverbs, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Make adjectives agree with the noun they describe
An adjective matches its noun in gender and number. One ending in -o has four forms: un chico alto, una chica alta, unos chicos altos, unas chicas altas. One ending in -e or -ista, and most ending in a consonant, only change for the plural: una casa grande, dos casas grandes.
Make adjectives plural, with their spelling changes
Add -s after a vowel (alto, altos; verde, verdes) and -es after a consonant (azul, azules). A final -z becomes -ces: feliz, felices. Some adjectives drop their written accent in the plural: común, comunes.
Use adjectives of nationality
Nationalities ending in a consonant add -a for the feminine: español, española, españoles, españolas. Those ending in -és or -án lose the accent once a letter is added: francés, francesa, franceses; alemán, alemana. They never take a capital letter, and the masculine form is also the language: Hablo francés.
Put most adjectives after the noun, and a few before it
Most adjectives follow the noun: un coche rojo, una película interesante. A small set goes in front, and some lose their -o before a masculine singular noun: un buen amigo, un mal día, el primer día, el tercer piso. Grande becomes gran before any singular noun and then means great: una gran idea.
Know the adjectives whose meaning changes with their position
A few adjectives say something different before and after the noun. Mi único amigo is my only friend, but un amigo único is a unique friend. Un viejo amigo is a friend you have known for years, while un amigo viejo is an elderly one.
Use adverbs to say how, when and where
Adverbs such as bien, mal, siempre and aquí don't agree with anything, so their ending never changes. An adverb saying how usually comes straight after the verb: Juega bien, she plays well; Canta mal, he sings badly. Muy goes before an adjective or another adverb: muy rápido, muy bien.
Recognise adverbs ending in -mente
Many adverbs add -mente to the feminine form of an adjective, just as English adds -ly: rápida, rápidamente, quickly; fácil, fácilmente, easily. The adjective keeps any accent it had. You will meet most of these in reading texts, so find the adjective inside and you have the meaning.
Use lo with an adjective to mean the good thing or the bad thingHigher only
Lo with a masculine singular adjective turns the adjective into an idea: lo bueno, the good thing; lo malo, the bad thing. It is a neat way to give a balanced opinion: Lo mejor es la comida, The best thing is the food; Lo peor es el ruido, The worst thing is the noise.
Adjectives and adverbs key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Adjective
- A word that describes a noun, such as alto, simpático or aburrido. In Spanish it usually comes after the noun and agrees with it.
- Agreement
- An adjective matching its noun in gender and number: un piso moderno, unas casas modernas.
- Adverb
- A word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb, saying how, when or where. Bien, siempre, aquí and muy are adverbs, and an adverb never changes its ending.
- -mente
- The ending that turns an adjective into an adverb, like -ly in English. It goes on the feminine form: tranquila, tranquilamente, calmly.
- buen, mal, primer and tercer
- The short forms of bueno, malo, primero and tercero, used only before a masculine singular noun: un buen día, el primer año. Before a feminine noun the full form stays: una buena idea.
- gran
- The form of grande before a singular noun, where it means great rather than big: un gran amigo, a great friend; una casa grande, a big house.
- Adjective of nationality
- An adjective for where someone or something is from, such as español or francés. It adds -a for the feminine and takes no capital letter: una amiga española.
- ser and estar with adjectives
- Ser says what someone or something is like, estar how they are right now. Some adjectives change meaning: Es aburrido, He is boring; Está aburrido, He is bored.
- lo buenoHigher only
- Lo with an adjective, meaning the good thing or what is good. Lo malo es que llueve mucho, The bad thing is that it rains a lot.
Common mistakes in Adjectives and adverbs
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving an adjective unagreed, as in Mis amigas son simpático.
Find the noun the adjective describes and ask two questions: masculine or feminine, singular or plural? Mis amigas is feminine plural, so simpáticas.
Putting the adjective before the noun, as English does: una roja camiseta.
Most adjectives follow the noun: una camiseta roja. Only the small set such as buen, mal, primer and gran goes in front.
Writing un bueno amigo or el primero día.
Before a masculine singular noun, bueno, malo, primero and tercero lose their -o: un buen amigo, el primer día. Before a feminine noun nothing is lost: la primera vez.
Starting a nationality with a capital letter, as in una chica Española, or keeping the accent in francésa.
Nationalities and languages take a small letter in Spanish: un chico inglés, Hablo alemán. The accent on -és and -án goes once a letter is added: francesa, alemanes.
Using an adjective where an adverb is needed, as in Juega bueno for he plays well.
Bueno describes a noun, while bien describes how something is done: Es un buen jugador, Juega bien. In the same way, he sings badly is Canta mal.
Practice
Try a Adjectives and adverbs question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which form completes the sentence? Mis primos son ___.
- inglesas
- ingleses
- inglés
- inglesa
Show the answer and the working
Answer: ingleses
Primos is masculine plural, so inglés adds -es and drops its written accent: Mis primos son ingleses means My cousins are English.
- Primos is masculine plural.
- A nationality ending in a consonant adds -es for the masculine plural.
- The accent drops because the word gets longer: ingleses.