Gender and number of Spanish adjectives
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Sign up for freeAdjectives must agree in gender (masculine, feminine) and number (singular, plural) with the noun they modify.
Adjectives are either masculine or feminine, singular or plural according to the noun they modify.
Here are some categories regarding the gender and number of adjectives:
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Masculine -o ending changes to -a in the feminine form. To form the plural, an -s is added to the singular ending.
Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
---|---|---|
alto (tall) | alta | altos/altas |
bonito (pretty) | bonita | bonitos/bonitas |
feo (ugly) | fea | feos/feas |
Some adjectives have the same form for both masculine and feminine.
To form the plural, add -s to adjectives ending in -e, while -es to adjectives ending in consonant.
Masculine / Feminine | Plural form |
---|---|
dulce (sweet) | dulces |
grande (big) | grandes |
débil* (weak) | débiles |
azul (blue) | azules |
Adjectives ending in -z have the same form for both masculine and femenine, while to form the plural, z turns into c before adding the plural -es ending.
Masculine / Feminine | Plural form |
---|---|
capaz (capable) | capaces |
feliz (happy) | felices |
veloz (fast) | veloces |
Here are some other categories regarding the gender and number of adjectives:
To form the feminine form, add -a to the masculine ending.The plural form is created by adding -es to the masculine ending and -s to the feminine one.
The accent mark is dropped in both cases.
Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
---|---|---|
charlatán (talkative) | charlatana | charlatanes/charlatanas |
trabajador (hard-working) | trabajadora | trabajadores/trabajadoras |
cabezón (stubborn) | cabezona | cabezones/cabezonas |
To form the feminine, this type of adjectives drops the -o and add -a. The plural form is created by adding -s to the singular form.
Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
---|---|---|
colombiano (Colombian) | colombiana | colombianos/colombianas |
griego (Greek) | griega | griegos/griegas |
italiano (Italian) | italiana | italianos/italianas |
To form the feminine, this type of adjectives adds the -a to the masculine ending. The plural form is created by adding -s to the masculine form and -es to the feminine.
The accent mark is dropped in both cases.
Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
---|---|---|
francés (French) | francesa | franceses/francesas |
inglés (English) | inglesa | ingleses/inglesas |
holandés (Dutch) | holandesa | holandeses/holandesas |
Masculine / Feminine | Plural form |
---|---|
belga (Belgian) | belgas |
alemán* (German) | alemanes |
costarricense (Costa Rican) | costarricenses |
iraquí* (Iraqi) | iraquís / iraquíes |
Compound adjectives add the plural to the last element.
Singular form | Plural form | Translation |
---|---|---|
relación sino-estadounidense | relaciones sino-estadounidenses | Chinese-U.S relations |
sociedad multicultural | sociedades multiculturales | multicultural societies |
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*Please note that some adjectives may keep or drop the accent mark on their plural form.