Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjective Agreement, Position, and Shortened Forms

Spanish adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. To check your work accurately, you need to know the rules for forming the feminine and plural endings.

Making an Adjective Feminine

• Adjectives ending in -o change to -a: un chico simpático $\rightarrow$ una chica simpática.
• Adjectives ending in -e, or in most consonants, stay the same: un día triste / una noche triste; un examen difícil / una pregunta difícil.
• Adjectives of nationality add -a, even when ending in a consonant: español $\rightarrow$ española, inglés $\rightarrow$ inglesa (notice that the written accent drops in the feminine).
• Adjectives ending in -dor add -a: trabajador $\rightarrow$ trabajadora.

Making an Adjective Plural

• After a vowel, add -s: caro $\rightarrow$ caros, interesante $\rightarrow$ interesantes.
• After a consonant, add -es: difícil $\rightarrow$ difíciles. Words ending in a vowel plus -n often gain a written accent to preserve their original stress: joven $\rightarrow$ jóvenes.
• A final -z changes to -ces: feliz $\rightarrow$ felices.
• For mixed groups of masculine and feminine nouns, always use the masculine plural: Mi hermano y mi hermana son altos (My brother and sister are tall).

Adjective Position and Shortened Forms (Apocopation)

Most descriptive adjectives sit directly after the noun (un viaje largo, ciudades históricas). However, limiting adjectives (demonstratives, possessives, and numbers) sit before the noun (este problema, mis amigos).

Certain common adjectives drop their final -o before a masculine singular noun:

• bueno $\rightarrow$ buen: un buen amigo (a good friend)
• malo $\rightarrow$ mal: un mal día (a bad day)
• primero $\rightarrow$ primer: el primer año (the first year)
• tercero $\rightarrow$ tercer: el tercer piso (the third floor)
• alguno $\rightarrow$ algún and ninguno $\rightarrow$ ningún (both gain a written accent)

Grande shortens to gran before any singular noun (masculine or feminine). In this position it shifts meaning to 'great' rather than 'big': un gran problema (a great/major problem), but una casa grande (a big house).

High-Yield Descriptive Vocabulary

These adjectives appear frequently in Leaving Certificate reading texts and written opinion questions:

• preocupante (worrying)
• injusto/a (unfair)
• imprescindible (essential)
• agobiante (overwhelming / stressful)
• asequible (affordable)
• peligroso/a (dangerous)
• sano/a (healthy)

Demonstratives and Possessives

Demonstrative and possessive structures sit before nouns or stand alone as pronouns. Mastering them allows you to refer to specific ideas and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Demonstratives (Three Degrees of Distance)

Spanish specifies three physical and temporal distances rather than just two:

• Near the speaker (this / these): este (m.sg.), esta (f.sg.), estos (m.pl.), estas (f.pl.).
• Este problema es grave. (This problem is serious.)
• Near the listener or not far away (that / those): ese (m.sg.), esa (f.sg.), esos (m.pl.), esas (f.pl.).
• Esa estación está cerrada. (That station is closed.)
• Far away in space or remote in time (that over there / those long ago): aquel (m.sg.), aquella (f.sg.), aquellos (m.pl.), aquellas (f.pl.).
• Aquella montaña es altísima. (That mountain over there is very high.)
• En aquella época no había móviles. (In those days there were no mobile phones.)

To refer to an entire statement, situation, or abstract idea rather than a specific noun, use the neuter forms esto (this) or eso (that). Neuter forms never change:

• Eso es inaceptable. (That is unacceptable.)
• Esto me preocupa mucho. (This worries me a lot.)

Take care not to confuse the masculine singular forms (este, ese, aquel) with neuter forms. Write este problema, never esto problema.

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Short-form possessive adjectives precede the noun. A vital rule is that the possessive agrees with the thing owned, never with the owner.

Only nuestro and vuestro change for gender (nuestro colegio, nuestra casa). The forms mi, tu, and su change only for number (mi libro, mis libros).

Because su and sus can mean his, her, its, their, or your, you can remove ambiguity in written tasks by using the definite article plus de: write el coche de ella instead of su coche, or la casa de ellos instead of su casa.

Stressed Possessives and Possessive Pronouns

Long-form possessives follow a noun (un amigo mío = a friend of mine; una idea tuya = an idea of yours). When combined with the definite article, they act as pronouns to prevent repetition:

• Mi móvil es viejo; el tuyo es nuevo. (My phone is old; yours is new.)
• Le entregué el mío. (I handed him/her mine.)

Comparatives, Superlatives, and Opinion Structures

Expressing preferences and evaluating issues requires clear comparative structures.

Basic Comparisons

• Superiority (more ... than): más + adjective + que
• El tren es más rápido que el autobús. (The train is faster than the bus.)
• Inferiority (less ... than): menos + adjective + que
• El albergue es menos ruidoso que el hotel. (The hostel is less noisy than the hotel.)
• Equality with adjectives and adverbs (as ... as): tan … como
• El desempleo juvenil es tan preocupante como la inflación. (Youth unemployment is as worrying as inflation.)
• Equality with nouns (as much / as many ... as): tanto/a/os/as + noun + como
• No tengo tanto dinero como tú. (I don't have as much money as you.)
• Había tantas opciones como en Madrid. (There were as many options as in Madrid.)

Additional Comparison Structures

• Before a number, use más de or menos de, not que: Había más de cien personas (There were more than a hundred people).
• Use lo mismo que to mean 'the same as': Cuesta lo mismo que el tren (It costs the same as the train).
• Use igual que to mean 'just like': Pienso igual que tú (I think just like you).
• The conditional tense softens a comparison: Sería más caro ir en avión (It would be more expensive to go by plane).
• Use mucho to intensify a comparative: mucho más barato (much cheaper).

Irregular Comparatives: Age, Size, and Quality

Four common adjectives have irregular comparative forms. Never add más to the irregular forms mejor, peor, mayor, menor. For physical size, más grande and más pequeño/a are correct:

• bueno/a $\rightarrow$ mejor (better) $\rightarrow$ el/la mejor (the best)
• malo/a $\rightarrow$ peor (worse) $\rightarrow$ el/la peor (the worst)
• grande $\rightarrow$ mayor (older / greater) or más grande (physically bigger)
• pequeño/a $\rightarrow$ menor (younger / lesser) or más pequeño (physically smaller)

Use más grande and más pequeño for physical dimensions: Madrid es más grande que Dublín. Reserve mayor and menor for age (mi hermano mayor = my older brother) and abstract importance (el mayor problema = the greatest problem). Never write más mayor or más mejor.

Relative Superlatives: Using de, Not en

To say someone or something is the 'most' or 'least' in a group, follow the pattern: *definite article (el / la / los / las) + noun + más / menos + adjective + de**. With mejor/peor (and mayor/menor), drop más and put the word before the noun: el mejor jugador del mundo*.

• Es el mejor jugador del mundo. (He is the best player in the world.)
• Es la ciudad más bonita de España. (It is the most beautiful city in Spain.)

Notice that Spanish always uses de after a superlative where English uses 'in'. Never write en el mundo or en España in these structures.

The Absolute Superlative (-ísimo)

The suffix -ísimo intensifies an adjective to mean 'extremely' or 'exceptionally':

• Drop the final vowel before adding the suffix: caro $\rightarrow$ carísimo, urgente $\rightarrow$ urgentísimo.
• If the adjective ends in a consonant, add -ísimo directly. The original accent mark disappears because -ísimo carries the stress: fácil $\rightarrow$ facilísimo, difícil $\rightarrow$ dificilísimo.
• Keep the consonant sound with spelling changes: -co $\rightarrow$ -quísimo (rico $\rightarrow$ riquísimo), -go $\rightarrow$ -guísimo (largo $\rightarrow$ larguísimo), -z $\rightarrow$ -císimo (feliz $\rightarrow$ felicísimo).

Remember to make -ísimo agree with the noun: unas películas buenísimas (some really great films).

High-Level Opinion Formula: Lo + Adjective

Combining the neuter article lo with a masculine singular adjective creates the abstract meaning 'the ... thing' or 'the ... part':

• Lo peor es que muchos jóvenes tienen que emigrar. (The worst thing is that many young people have to emigrate.)
• Lo bueno es que hay más oportunidades. (The good thing is that there are more opportunities.)
• Lo más importante es actuar enseguida. (The most important thing is to act immediately.)

Adverb Formation, Usage, and Syllabus Exponents

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They describe how, when, where, or to what degree an action occurs, and they are completely invariable.

Forming Adverbs with -mente

Most English -ly adverbs translate into Spanish using -mente:

1. If an adjective has separate masculine and feminine forms, take the feminine singular + -mente:

• rápido $\rightarrow$ rápida $\rightarrow$ rápidamente (quickly)
• claro $\rightarrow$ clara $\rightarrow$ claramente (clearly)
• cuidadoso $\rightarrow$ cuidadosa $\rightarrow$ cuidadosamente (carefully)

1. If the adjective ends in -e or a consonant, add -mente directly: constante $\rightarrow$ constantemente, fácil $\rightarrow$ fácilmente.
2. Adverbs keep the accent of the adjective: fácil $\rightarrow$ fácilmente, rápido $\rightarrow$ rápidamente.

When coordinating two -mente adverbs with y (and) or o (or), attach the -mente suffix only to the second adverb, keeping the first in its feminine singular adjective form: Debemos actuar rápida y eficazmente (We must act quickly and effectively).

Invariable Adverbs: Bien vs Buen, Mal vs Mal

Do not attach -mente to words that are already adverbs. Adjectives describe nouns, whereas adverbs describe verbs:

• Es un buen estudiante. (Adjective modifying estudiante.)
• Estudia bien. (Adverb modifying the verb estudia.)
• Fue un mal partido. (Adjective modifying partido.)
• Jugaron mal. (Adverb modifying the verb jugaron.)

Muy vs Mucho and Degree Adverbs

Confusing muy and mucho is a frequent error in student writing:

• muy (very) precedes adjectives and adverbs: muy caro, muy rápidamente.
• mucho (a lot) modifies verbs: Estudio mucho, Me gusta mucho. It never goes before an ordinary adjective (not mucho caro), but it can strengthen a comparative: mucho más caro, mucho mejor.
• mucho/a/os/as (many, a lot of) functions as an adjective before nouns and agrees: muchos problemas, mucha gente.
• Never write muy mucho. Write muchísimo instead.

Other helpful degree adverbs include bastante (quite/fairly: bastante difícil), demasiado (too: demasiado caro), and poco (not very: poco interesante).

Frequency Adverbs for Diaries and Oral Responses

• siempre (always)
• nunca (never)
• a menudo (often)
• a veces (sometimes)
• todavía (still / yet)
• ya (already / now)

Words for Place: Adverbs and Prepositions

Without a noun, these words function as adverbs (El taxi espera delante). When placed before a noun, they require de, and de + el contracts to del:

• delante del hotel (in front of the hotel) / detrás de la estación (behind the station)
• cerca del centro (near the centre) / lejos de aquí (far from here)
• encima de la mesa (on top of the table) / debajo de la cama (under the bed)

Communicating Time and Urgency

Use these expressions in notes, letters, and oral role-plays:

• lo antes posible (as soon as possible)
• en cuanto + subjunctive for future actions: en cuanto puedas (as soon as you can), en cuanto llegue (as soon as I arrive). When referring to a past event or regular habit, use the indicative: En cuanto llegué, te llamé (As soon as I arrived, I called you).
• es urgentísimo (it is extremely urgent)
• enseguida (immediately / right away)
• de madrugada (in the early hours / at dawn)
• al mediodía (at midday)
• antes del mediodía (before midday)

Key terms

Agreement / Concordancia

The grammatical matching in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) between a noun and its modifying articles and adjectives.

Apocopation / Apócope

The shortening of certain adjectives before a singular noun, such as bueno becoming buen or grande becoming gran.

Demonstrative / Demostrativo

A word indicating relative physical or temporal distance from the speaker, covering three zones: este (near speaker), ese (near listener), and aquel (distant).

Possessive Pronoun / Pronombre posesivo

A combination of the definite article and a long-form possessive (el mío, la tuya, los nuestros) used to replace a noun and show ownership.

Comparative of Superiority / Comparativo de superioridad

A grammatical pattern comparing two elements where one has a greater quality, formed with más + adjective + que.

Comparative of Equality / Comparativo de igualdad

A pattern showing that two elements share identical degrees of a quality, using tan + adjective + como or tanto/a/os/as + noun + como.

Relative Superlative / Superlativo relativo

A structure identifying the highest or lowest degree within a group, formed with the definite article + más/menos + adjective + de (or el/la mejor/peor + noun + de).

Absolute Superlative / Superlativo absoluto

An intensified adjective meaning 'extremely' or 'exceptionally', formed by appending the suffix -ísimo/-ísima.

Invariable / Invariable

A grammatical property of adverbs meaning they do not change their form for gender or number.