Adjective Endings in Spanish Grammar

Spanish adjective endings

In Spanish, we change adjective endings to agree with the noun they are describing in terms of gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

Learn about adjective endings in Spanish grammar with Lingolia, then practise in the interactive exercises.

Contents

¿El trabajo perfecto?

Pues mira, en una empresa pequeña y local.

A orillas de una playa preciosa y cercano a alguna ciudad apasionante con una gran oferta cultural, numerosas salas de conciertos y restaurantes de todas partes: franceses, pakistaníes…

En definitiva, un trabajo sencillo y en absoluto estresante con el que mi gato y yo podamos ser felices.

Gender of Spanish adjectives: masculine and feminine

The gender of Spanish adjectives reflects the gender of the noun they are describing (masculine or feminine). However, there are certain adjectives that are invariable (their ending remains unchanged regardless of noun gender).

  • in general, masculine adjectives end in -o
    Example:
    el trabajo perfecto the perfect job
  • adjectives that end in -o in the masculine end in -a in the feminine
    Examples:
    un atardecer precioso a beautiful sunset
    una playa preciosa a beautiful beach

  • adjectives that end in -ón (bretónBreton), -ol (españolSpanish), -or (encantadorcharming) and -és (francésFrench) also end in -a
    (exception: cortéspolite takes the same form regardless of gender)

    Examples:
    un restaurante francés a French restaurant
    una tienda de alimentación francesa a French supermarket
    but: Mi jefa actual es muy cortés. My current boss is very polite.

  • adjectives ending in -e (fiablereliable, razonablereasonable) or in a consonant (jovenyoung, débilweak, difícildifficult, fácileasy, familiarfamiliar, felizhappy, peculiarstrange, usualusual, velozfast …) have the same form for both genders

    Examples:
    un libro apasionante – una ciudad apasionante an exciting book – an exciting city
    un negocio local – una empresa local a local business – a local company
  • some adjectives end in -a in both the masculine and the feminine: belgaBelgian, cosmopolitacosmopolitan, optimistaoptimistic, realistarealistic
    Examples:
    Este cuadro es muy realista. This painting is very realistic.
    Mi vecino es muy cosmopolita. My neighbour is very cosmopolitan.
  • if an adjective refers to more than one noun and at least one is masculine, we use the masculine plural form of the adjective
    Example:
    Mi hermana y mi hermano están muy orgullosos de mí. My sister and my brother are very proud of me.
    feminine noun (mi hermana) + masculine noun (mi hermano) = masculino plural adjective

The adjectives bueno, malo, primero, tercero

The adjectives buenogood, malobad, primerofirst and tercerothird usually come before the noun they describe and lose their final -o in the masculine singular.

Example:
un buen trabajo a good job
not: un bueno trabajo
but: una buena siesta a good nap

The adjective grande

The adjective grandebig/great is the same in both the masculine and the feminine, but loses the final syllable -de in the singular when it preceeds the noun it describes.

Note: when placed before the noun, gran means great, significant or famous; after the noun, grande means big or large in terms of size.

Examples:
el gran día the big day
la gran ciudad the great city
una ciudad grande a big city

→ See our page about adjective placement in Spanish grammar to learn more.

Colours in Spanish

The colours in Spanish are adjectives (e.g. rojored, amarilloyellow, azulblue…). Some of them are invariable (same form in masculine and feminine), whereas others change their endings.

  • invariable colours: azulblue, beigebeige, grisgrey, lilalilac, malvamauve, marrónbrown, naranjaorange, rosapink, verdegreen, violetaviolet
    Examples:
    el cielo azul the blue sky
    la toalla azul the blue towel
  • colours that change their endings: amarilloyellow, blancowhite, moradopurple, negroblack, rojored
    Examples:
    el gato blanco the white cat
    la arena blanca the white sand

Plural adjectives in Spanish

Spanish plural adjectives are formed by adding an -s to the singular form. They also agree in gender with the noun(s) being described.

Examples:
un restaurante caro → dos restaurantes caros an expensive restaurant → two expensive restaurants
masculine plural noun → adjective ending -os
una tienda cara → dos tiendas caras an expensive shop → two expensive shops
feminine plural noun → adjective ending -as

Some plural adjectives are formed by adding -es or -ces:

  • adjectives that end in a consonant take the ending -es in the plural
    Example:
    Me gustaría ir a un restaurante francés.I love French cheese.
    → No hay muchos restaurantes franceses por la zona. There aren’t many French restaurants in the area.
    the adjective loses its accent in the plural form
  • adjectives that end in -í or -ú also take the ending -es in the plural
Example:
Cerca de mi casa hay un restaurante pakistani. There’s a Pakistani restaurant near my house.
→ En mi barrio hay cantidad de restaurantes pakistaníes. In my neighbourhood, there are loads of Pakistani restaurants.
Me gusta la comida hindú. I like Hindu food.
→ Aquí hay muchos restaurantes hindúes. There are many Hindu restaurants here.
  • adjectives that end in -z take the ending -ces in the plural
Example:
Me siento feliz cerca del mar. I feel happy close to the sea.
→ Mi gato y yo somos muy felices. My cat and I are very happy.