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Adjectives
Gender
Model Question and Answer: Supply the correct form of the adjective given. Q: _____ una casa (bonito) |
Adjectives in Spanish generally follow the nouns which they modify.
un libro nuevo - (the new table)
una mesa redonda - (the round table)
Most adjectives in Spanish terminate in -o, which is the masculine form. Such adjectives change the -o to -a to form the feminine. In the plural, -s is added.
| singular | plural | |
| Masculine | rojo | rojos |
| Feminine | roja | rojas |
In Spanish all adjectives always agree in gender and number with the nouns
which they modify. Thus the four forms of the adjective listed above are
used in the following manner:
| el libro rojo - (the red book) | los libros rojos - (the red books) |
| la mesa roja - (the red table) | las mesas rojas - (the red tables) |
NOTE: The word estudiante may be either masculine or feminine. Thus we may speak of el estudiante or la estudiante, un estudiante or una estudiante, as required.
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Forming Plurals
Model Question and Answer: Change the following phrase to plural form. Q: el muchacho popular |
Useful Grammar For This Quiz
Above, we learned that adjectives which end in -o have four different forms.
| rojo - (red) | rojos - (red) |
| roja - (red) | rojas - (red) |
Most other adjectives - that is, those which do not terminate in -o have only two forms, one form for the singular and one form for the plural.
| un libro grande | dos libros grandes |
| una mesa grande | dos mesas grandes |
If the adjective ends in a consonant (fácil, popular, joven), it forms its plural in the same way as nouns which terminate in a consonant, by adding -es.
| el ejercicio fácil | los ejercicios fáciles |
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indefinite or limiting adjectives
Model Question and Answer: Choose the correct form. Q: Raquel tiene (mucho) amigas en la escuela. |
Useful Grammar For This Quiz
The student, no doubt, will already have observed that, while descriptive adjectives such as rojo, alto, bello follow the noun they modify, indefinite or limiting adjectives (mucho, poco, cuanto, mismo, otro) precede the noun. Furthermore, such adjectives have number and gender and must agree in these details with the nouns which they modify.
| mucho dinero | poco dinero |
| mucha ropa | poca ropa |
| muchos libros | pocos libros |
| muchas personas | pocas personas |
Note, however, that cada, whether used with either a masculine or feminine noun, has only the one form.
| cada libro | cada mesa |
Note also that todo, when a definite article accompanies the noun, always precedes the article.
| todo el mes | todos los meses |
| toda la semana | todas las semanas |
Note that otro is used in Spanish without an indefinite article.
Yo tengo otro lápiz.
I have another pencil.
Necesito otra pluma.
I need another pen.
