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Spanish · Grammar · A1 to B1

Spanish adjectives: agreement, position, and why un gran hombre isn’t a big man

One adjective, four forms · pick a noun
Adjectives ending in -o: four forms.

Short answer: Spanish adjectives agree with their noun: they match its gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). Adjectives in -o have four forms (rojo, roja, rojos, rojas); those in -e or a consonant have two (verde, verdes; azul, azules). Most adjectives go after the noun: una casa blanca. A few go before, and some change meaning with position: un hombre grande is a big man, un gran hombre a great one.

Before or after the noun?

Una casa blanca, la blanca nieve

la casa blanca la blanca nieve After: picks one out from others(the white one, not the others)Before: a quality everyone assumes(snow is white anyway; poetic)
After is the default. Put an adjective before the noun only for these set cases: numbers and quantities (muchos, primer), bueno/malo, and literary emphasis.
Colour, nationality, shape: after
unacochecaralemánGerman
oon KOH-cheh ah-leh-MAN · “a German car”Why: Nationality adjectives always follow the noun and take no capital.
Quantity and order: before
muchosmanyamigosfriends
MOO-chohs ah-MEE-gohs · “many friends”Why: mucho, poco, otro, primero, último come first.
Mixed group: masculine
Los padresthe parentsestánarecansados.tired
lohs PAH-dres es-TAN kan-SAH-dohs · “The parents are tired.”Why: A man and a woman together take the masculine plural.
Two nouns, one adjective
la faldathe skirty la blusaand the blouseblancaswhite
lah FAL-dah ee lah BLOO-sah BLAN-kahs · “the white skirt and blouse”Why: One adjective after two nouns goes plural.
Adjectives that change meaning

Gran hombre or hombre grande

AdjectiveBeforeAfter
grandeun gran hombrea great manun hombre grandea big man
viejoun viejo amigoan old (long-time) friendun amigo viejoan elderly friend
nuevoun nuevo cochea new (different) carun coche nuevoa brand-new car
pobreel pobre niñothe poor (unlucky) childel niño pobrethe poor (penniless) child
únicola única ocasiónthe only chanceuna ocasión únicaa unique chance
Short forms before a noun

Bueno → buen, grande → gran

Adjectives that change with ser and estar

Es aburrido, está aburrido

With ser an adjective describes what someone or something is like; with estar it describes a state right now. A few adjectives change meaning completely.

Comparing

Más alto que, tan alto como

More
MadridMadridesismás grandemore bigque Sevilla.than Seville
mah-DREED es MAHS GRAN-deh keh seh-BEE-yah · “Madrid is bigger than Seville.”Why: más + adjective + que.
As … as
Esshe-istan altaas tallcomo su madre.as her mother
es TAN AL-tah KOH-moh soo MAH-dreh · “She’s as tall as her mother.”Why: tan … como; the adjective agrees.
Better
Estethisesismejor.better
ES-teh es meh-HOR · “This one is better.”Why: bueno → mejor, malo → peor.
-ísimo
¡Estáit-isbuenísimo!really-good
es-TAH bweh-NEE-see-moh · “It’s delicious!”Why: -ísimo = extremely. Very common in speech.
Keep going

Related guides

la / elGender and articles →Why la casa, el coche.las casasPlurals →-s, -es and agreement.más altoComparatives →más grande que, el mejor.rojoColours vocabulary →rojo, azul, verde in use.