Adjectives with Nouns

Spanish adjectives are used to describe nouns. They can describe things or tell how many there are. The Spanish adjectives must agree in both gender and number.

Adjective Agreement in Gender

Adjectives Ending in “o”

Let’s take a simple describing word like “simpático”. The English translation would be “nice”. In English we would use “nice” to describe a male or a female. In Spanish you must make the adjective agree in gender by adding the correct ending.

The nice man = El hombre simpático

The nice woman = La mujer simpática

So, if the adjective ends in “o” it needs to switch to “a” if it is describing a female noun.

For the describing word “viejo” (old):

The old man = El hombre viejo

The old woman = La mujer vieja

Spanish Adjectives Ending in “e” or a Consonant:

If the adjective ends in an “e” or a consonant you don’t have to worry about changing the ending to match the gender of the noun being described.

The tolerant boy = El chico tolerante

The tolerant girl = La chica tolerante

The loyal man = El hombre leal

The loyal woman = La mujer leal

Spanish Adjective Agreement in Number

Adjectives ending in a vowel:

If a Spanish noun is plural the adjective has to be plural too. If the adjective ends in a vowel you just add a “s” to the end of the word:

The nice man = El hombre simpático
The nice men = Los hombres simpáticos

The nice woman = La mujer simpática
The nice women = Las mujeres simpáticas

Adjectives ending in a consonant

If the adjective ends in a consonant you add “es” to make it plural:

The loyal man = El hombre leal
The loyal men = Los hombres leales

The loyal woman = La mujer leal
The loyal woman = Las mujeres leales

Adjective Placement in Spanish

If the adjective describes the quality of the noun it normally goes after it:

The handsome man = El hombre guapo

The pretty woman = La mujer bonita

If the adjective describes the quantity it goes in front of the noun:

I have two friends. = Tengo dos amigos.

You have many friends. = Tienes muchos amigos.