This is the forty-second lesson in our beginner level Spanish course and we will look at Examples of Spanish Adjectives in use.
In lesson 38 we explained fundamental Spanish Grammar Terminology (verbs, adjectives, nouns, prepositions, etc) and then went on to look in more detail at Spanish Pronouns and most recently Spanish Adjectives. We have learned that adjectives are words that describe nouns (things), are usually positioned after their noun, and can change depending on the gender of the noun they describe. Now we are going to see lots of useful Examples of Spanish Adjectives in use to further clarify and reinforce your understanding.
There are various types of Spanish Adjectives: descriptive, relational, possessive, superlative, and adjectives that serve as nouns.
Descriptive Adjectives in Spanish
Descriptive Adjectives describe a noun’s qualities. These can be physical (shape, colour, size etc.) and abstract (personality, state of being, characteristics etc.)
Example sentences:
Los zapatos son marrones: The shoes are brown
María era muy traviesa cuando era pequeña: María was very naughty when she was young.
Me gustaría tener un perro pequeño: I would like to have a small dog
Relational Adjectives in Spanish
Relational Adjectives classify/group/categorise the nouns they describe.
Example sentences:
Tengo que comprar una cuchara sopera: I need to buy a soup spoon
Estoy leyendo una novela histórica: I am Reading a historic book
Antes me gustaba las películas románticas: Before I used to like romantic movies
Possessive Adjectives in Spanish
Possessive Adjectives indicate who or what possesses something. There are two kinds of Possessive Adjectives: Short Form and Long Form. Long Form Possessive Adjectives are placed after their noun they modify and Short Form Possessive Adjectives are placed before the noun they modify.
Short-form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish
Mi/s: My
Tu/s: Your
Su/s: His/Her/Its
Nuestro/a/s: Our
Vuestro/a/s: Your
Su/s: Their
Example sentences:
¿Dónde están tus amigos?: Where are your friends?
Nuestra hija está estudiando en la universidad: Our daughter is studying at university.
Mi hermana vino a verme la semana pasada: Mi sister came to see me last week.
Long-form Possessive Adjectives in Spanish
Mío/Míos/Mía/Mías: Mine
Tuyo/Tuyos/Tuya/Tuyas: Yours
Suyo/Suyos/Suya/Suyas: His/Hers/Its
Nuestro/Nuestros/Nuestra/Nuestras: Ours
Vuestro/Vuestros/Vuestra/Vuestras: Yours
Suyo/Suyos/Suya/Suyas: Theirs
Example sentences:
Esta chaqueta es mía: This jacket is mine.
Coge mi coche. El tuyo no tiene gasolina: Take my car, yours hasn’t got petrol.
El hijo de Susana es muy buen estudiante, pero el mío nunca quiere estudiar: Susana’s son is a very good student, but mine never wants to study.
Superlative Adjectives in Spanish
Superlative Adjectives stress an exceptional property of a noun and are formed by adding -ísimo/-ísima/-ísimos/-ísimas to the adjective which translates to very/so/incredibly/extremely/etc in English.
Example sentences:
Esta paella está riquísima: This paella is very tasty.
No me gustó nada la película, fue aburridísima: I did not like the movie at all, it was very boring.
Después de la carrera, los corredores estaban cansadísimos: After the race, the runners were very tired.
Adjectives which serve as nouns
Most adjectives can also be used as nouns. In English, this is usually translated as: The (adjective) one. Often adjectives are used as nouns to refer to a previously mentioned noun. To use an adjective as a noun you must add an article and be careful that it matches the gender and number of the noun.
Example sentences
¿Te gusta la falda verde o la falda negra? Me gusta la negra: Do you like the green skirt or the black skirt? I like the black one.
¿Has visto las nuevas zapatillas de Nike Air? He comprado ya las más caras: Have you seen the new Nike trainers? I’ve already bought the most expensive ones.
¿Te pongo aceitunas verdes o negras? En mi opinión, las verdes están más ricas: Shall I give you green or black olives? In my opinion, the green ones are tastier.
