3 1 Descriptive adjectives ANTE TODO Adjectives are

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives ANTE TODO § Adjectives are words that describe people, places, and things. § In Spanish, descriptive adjectives are often used with the verb ser to point out the characteristics or qualities of nouns or pronouns, such as nationality, size, color, shape, personality, and appearance. NOUN ADJECTIVE El abuelo de Maite es alto. PRONOUN ADJECTIVE Él es muy simpático también.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Forms and agreement of adjectives COMPARE & CONTRAST § In English, the forms of descriptive adjectives do not change to reflect the gender (masculine / feminine) and number (singular / plural) of the noun or pronoun they describe. Juan is nice. Elena is nice. They are nice. § In Spanish, the forms of descriptive adjectives agree in gender and/or number with the nouns or pronouns they describe. Juan es simpático. Elena es simpática. Ellos son simpáticos.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives § Adjectives that end in –o have four different forms. § The feminine singular is formed by changing the –o to –a. § The plural is formed by adding –s to the singular forms. Masculine Feminine SINGULAR el muchacho alto la muchacha alta PLURAL los muchachos altos las muchachas altas

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives § Adjectives that end in –e or a consonant have the same masculine and feminine forms. Masculine Feminine SINGULAR el muchacho inteligente el examen difícil la muchacha inteligente la clase difícil PLURAL los muchachos inteligentes los exámenes difíciles las muchachas inteligentes las clases difíciles

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives § Adjectives that end in –or are variable in both gender and number. Masculine Feminine SINGULAR el hombre trabajador la mujer trabajadora PLURAL los hombres trabajadores las mujeres trabajadoras

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives § Adjectives that refer to nouns of different genders use the masculine plural form. Manuel es alto. Lola es alta. Manuel y Lola son altos.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Common adjectives alto/a tall fácil easy antipático/a unpleasant feo/a ugly bajo/a short (in height) bonito/a pretty bueno/a good gordo/a fat grande big; large guapo handsome; good -looking delgado/a thin; slender importante important difícil hard; difficult inteligente intelligent

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Common adjectives joven young pequeño/a small malo/a bad rubio/a blond(e) mismo/a same simpático/a nice; likeable moreno/a brunet(te) mucho/a much; many; a lot of pelirrojo/a red-haired tonto/a silly; foolish trabajador/a hard-working viejo/a old

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Adjectives of nationality § Adjectives of nationality are formed like other descriptive adjectives. Adjectives of nationality that end in –o form the feminine by changing the –o to –a. chino china mexicano mexicana § The plural is formed by adding an –s to the masculine or feminine form. chinos mexicanas

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Adjectives of nationality § Adjectives of nationality that end in –e have only two forms, singular and plural. canadienses estadounidenses § Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant form the feminine by adding –a. alemán alemana japonés japonesa española inglés inglesa

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives ¡ATENCIÓN! § Unlike in English, Spanish adjectives of nationality are not capitalized. Proper names of countries, however, are capitalized. México China Canadá Perú § Note that adjectives of nationality which carry an accent mark on the last syllable, drop it in the feminine and plural forms. inglés → inglesa alemán → alemanes

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Some adjectives of nationality alemán, alemana German canadiense Canadian chino/a Chinese ecuatoriano/a Ecuadorian español(a) Spanish estadounidense from the U. S. francés, francesa French inglés, inglesa English italiano/a Italian japonés, japonesa Japanese mexicano/a Mexican norteamericano/a (North) American puertorriqueño/a Puerto Rican ruso/a Russian

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Position of adjectives § Descriptive adjectives and adjectives of nationality generally follow the nouns they modify. El chico rubio es de España. The blond boy is from Spain. La mujer española habla inglés. The Spanish woman speaks English.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Position of adjectives § Unlike descriptive adjectives, adjectives of quantity are placed before the modified noun. Hay muchos libros en la biblioteca. There are many books in the library. Hablo con dos turistas puertorriqueños. I am talking with two Puerto Rican tourists.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Position of adjectives § Bueno/a and malo/a can be placed before or after a noun. When placed before a masculine singular noun, the forms are shortened: bueno buen; malo mal. Joaquín es un buen amigo. Joaquín is a good friend. Today is a bad day. Joaquín es un amigo bueno. Hoy es un mal día. Hoy es un día malo.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives Position of adjectives § When grande appears before a singular noun, it is shortened to gran, and the meaning of the word changes: gran = great and grande = big, large. Don Francisco es un gran hombre. Don Francisco is a great man. La familia de Inés es grande. Inés’ family is large.

3. 1 Descriptive adjectives ¡INTÉNTALO! Provide the appropriate forms of the adjectives. simpático 1. 2. 3. 4. Mi hermano es ____. La profesora Martínez es ____. Rosa y Teresa son ____. Nosotros somos ____. español 1. 2. 3. 4. difícil 1. 2. 3. 4. Clara es ____. El periodista es ____. Ellas son ____. Los turistas son ____. Luis es ____. Mis primas son ____. Rafael y yo somos ____. Nosotros somos ____. guapo 1. 2. 3. 4. Su esposo es ____. Mis sobrinas son ____. Los padres de ella ____. Marta es ____.