In Spanish, adjectives change their ending to match the noun they describe — in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).
el chico alto (the tall boy)
la chica alta (the tall girl)
los chicos altos (the tall boys)
las chicas altas (the tall girls)
Quick rule: one adjective, four possible endings: -o, -a, -os, -as.
Adjectives whose dictionary form ends in -o have all four forms:
| singular | plural | |
| masculine | pequeño | pequeños |
| feminine | pequeña | pequeñas |
un coche pequeño — una casa pequeña
unos coches pequeños — unas casas pequeñas
These adjectives do not change for gender — only for number:
grande: un piso grande / una casa grande — same form!
inteligente: el alumno inteligente / la alumna inteligente
fácil: un examen fácil / una pregunta fácil
azul: el coche azul / la camisa azul
Plural: add -s after a vowel (grande→grandes), -es after a consonant (azul→azules, fácil→fáciles).
Unlike English, Spanish adjectives usually go after the noun:
un libro interesante (an interesting book — literally "a book interesting")
una película española (a Spanish film)
el vino tinto (red wine)
Exceptions you already know: numbers and quantity words go before — dos libros, muchas casas, poco tiempo.
Adjectives after ser (and estar) still agree with the subject:
Mi hermano es simpático. (My brother is nice.)
Mi hermana es simpática. (My sister is nice.)
Mis padres son simpáticos. (My parents are nice.)
Las clases son aburridas. (The classes are boring.)
Mixed groups (masculine + feminine together) use the masculine plural: Juan y María son altos.
Learn adjectives in opposite pairs — all agree the same way:
grande / pequeño (big / small)
alto / bajo (tall / short)
nuevo / viejo (new / old)
bonito / feo (pretty / ugly)
fácil / difícil (easy / difficult)
barato / caro (cheap / expensive)
Traps for English speakers
These are the errors English speakers make most often.