Complete Guide to Spanish Adjectives: Definition, Types and Examples

Adjectives are a fundamental part of our Spanish sentences, as they allow us to describe the world around us. They help us give more details about people, places and things, making our sentences more interesting and colorful. Let's review this guide on adjectives together so you can understand them more clearly.

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that is used to describe or qualify a noun (that is, a person, place, thing, or idea).

Adjectives help us give more information about our nouns, such as their color, size, shape, state, or quantity. They answer questions such as how are they, how many are they, or whose are they? Examples of adjectives in Spanish:

• El coche rojo (the red car)
• Los árboles altos (the tall trees)
• Mi mesa redonda (my round table)
• La manzana verde (the green apple)
• Las montañas negras (the black mountains)

Types of adjectives

Adjectives can be classified into different types according to their function. Here we share with you the most common types:

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate to whom something belongs. They are placed before the noun, and it is important that they agree in number and gender with the noun. Examples of possessive adjectives:

• Mi gato es gris (my cat is gray)
• Tu casa es bonita (your house is nice)
• Nuestro perro es grande (our dog is big)
• Sus ideas son interesantes (your ideas are interesting)
• Nuestros padres están en casa (our parents are at home)

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives indicate the location of something in relation to the person who is speaking/writing and refer to objects or people near or far away. These adjectives are also placed before the noun. Examples of demonstrative adjectives:

• Aquel árbol es muy alto (that tree is very tall)
• Esos zapatos son caros (those shoes are expensive)
• Este teléfono es nuevo (this phone is new)
• Aquella montaña es alta (that mountain is tall)
• Estas frutas son frescas (these fruits are fresh)

Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are used to communicate what a thing or person is like, indicating characteristics or qualities. They usually appear after the noun, but in some cases they can also be placed before it to give emphasis. Examples of descriptive adjectives:

• El agua está fría (the water is cold)
• Mi amigo es simpático (my friend is nice)
• El libro es interesante (the book is interesting)
• El pastel está delicioso (the cake is delicious)
• El día fue largo (the day was long)

Numerical adjectives

Numerical adjectives indicate an exact quantity or order that a series of nouns carries. There are four types of numerical adjectives, let's explore them now.

• Cardinal

They answer the question ‘how many?’, indicating an exact quantity. Examples of cardinals:

Tengo tres libros (I have three books)

Compré cuatro zanahorias (I bought four carrots)

Hay diez personas en la sala (there are ten people in the room)

Me dieron cinco boletos (I got five tickets)

Vimos dos películas (we saw two movies)

• Ordinals

They answer the question ‘where?’, indicating the order or position of something. Examples of ordinals:

Él ganó el primer premio (he won first prize)

Soy el segundo en la fila (I am second in line)

El tercer capítulo es mi favorito (the third chapter is my favorite)

Vivimos en el cuarto piso (we live on the fourth floor)  
Llegué en quinto lugar  (I came in fifth place)

• Multiples

They answer the question of ‘how many times?, or ‘how much greater?’, indicating that there was a multiplication of a quantity. Examples of multiples:

Las horas extras las pagaron al doble (they paid overtime at double)

Tengo un armario que es el triple de grande (I have a cabinet that is three times as big)

Mi inversión se ha multiplicado por el cuádruple (my investment has been multiplied by four times)

El esfuerzo fue quíntuple en esta tarea (the effort was quintuple on this task)

La recompensa será séxtuple (the reward will be sixfold)

• Partitives

They answer the question ‘what part?’, indicating a part or fraction of something. Examples of partitives:

Bebí medio vaso de agua (I drank half a glass of water)

Solo me queda un tercio del pastel (I only have one third of the cakeleft)

Comí tres cuartos de pizza (I ate three-quarters of the pizza)

Me falta un quinto de la tarea (I am one-fifth short of my homework)  
Compré medio kilo de manzanas  (I bought a pound of apples)

Indefinite adjectives

Indefinite adjectives are used to express a quantity or identity in a vague and not exact way. Examples of indefinite adjectives:

• Muchas personas vinieron a la fiesta (many people came to the party)
• Varios amigos me ayudaron (several friends helped me)
• Me queda poca agua en el vaso (I have little water left in my glass)
• Ciertos días se sienten más largos (certain days feel longer)
• Hay bastante comida para todos (there is enough food for everyone)

Qualifying adjectives

Qualifying adjectives are adjectives that allow us to qualify or describe a particular quality of the noun. They can be either positive or negative. Examples of qualifying adjectives:

• Mi hermana es inteligente (my sister is intelligent)
• El clima es frío (the weather is cold)
• La película fue aburrida (the movie was boring)
• El gato es gris (the cat is gray)
• Las flores son hermosas (the flowers are beautiful)

Relational adjectives

Relational adjectives allow us to relate a noun to a specific category or field (state, disciplines, subjects, countries, etc.). Examples of relational adjectives:

• El problema es médico (the problem is medical)
• La comida mexicana es deliciosa (mexican food is delicious)
• Es una tienda española (it is a spanish store)
• El evento es cultural (the event is cultural)
• El sistema educativo es moderno (the educational system is modern)

1

Comparison of adjectives

Adjectives in Spanish can also be used to make comparisons and indicate differences or similarities between two or more nouns. Let's see how.

Comparative adjectives

Regular comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns with each other. They are used to express whether one thing has a quality that is greater than, less than, or equal to another. Examples of comparative adjectives:

• Este libro es más interesante que el otro (this book is more interesting than the other)
• Mi hermano es menos alto que yo (my brother is less tall than i am)
• Ella es más rápida que su amigo (she is faster than her friend)
• Este café es más fuerte que el regular (this coffee is stronger than the regular one)
• Su pastel es más delicioso que el mío (his cake is more delicious than mine)

Note: There are some comparatives that are irregular, such as mejor (better), peor (worse), mayor (major) and menor (minor), which do not follow the above rule and instead change form completely. 

Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives allow us to indicate when a noun has the highest or lowest possible quality. These adjectives are formed by adding “the most” or “the least” in front of the adjective. Examples of superlative adjectives:

• Ella es la más inteligente de la clase (she is the smartest in the class)
• Mi cuarto es el menos frío (my room is the least cold)
• Esta es la serie más divertida que he visto (this is the funniest show i've ever seen)
• El examen fue el menos difícil del año (the test was the least difficult of the year)
• Esta es la mejor pizza que he probado (this is the best pizza i've ever tasted)

Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives are those that are formed by combining two or more words, joining the adjective with a noun, adverb, or other adjective. Their purpose is to describe a noun with more precision or detail.

In Spanish, compound adjectives are usually written with a hyphen between two words, or they can go together as one word. It is also important to remember that they do not always change form to agree with the noun in gender and number, but this depends on the type of words that are combined. Examples of compound adjectives:

• El recuerdo de esa noche es agridulce (the memory of that night is bittersweet)
• Esta es una lección teórico-práctica, hay que aprender y hacer (this is a theoretical-practical lesson to learn and do)
• Los bosques tropicales-húmedos son ecosistemas muy ricos (tropical rainforests are very rich ecosystems)
• Mi jefe es un hombre bien vestido (my boss is a well-dressed man)
• La película es hispanoamericana (the film is spanish-american)

Order of adjectives in Spanish

In Spanish, the order of adjectives can vary, but in general, descriptive adjectives are placed after the noun, while possessive, demonstrative and numeral adjectives are placed before. Examples of the order of adjectives:

• Mi gato negro (my black cat)
• Tres coches rápidos (three fast cars)
• Mis amigos son fieles (my friends are faithful)
• El clima ha estado agradable (the weather has been nice)
• Vuestro jardín está lindo (your garden is beautiful)

Adjectives with common Spanish suffixes

Adjectives with suffixes are very important, as they allow us to form adjectives from nouns and verbs. These suffixes add a specific meaning to the adjective, often describing a quality or characteristic related to the base word.

Common suffixes to form adjectives

• Suffix -oso/a

We use this suffix to describe something that has the quality indicated by the root. Examples of adjectives with the suffix -oso/a:

Hermoso/a (that has beauty)

Valioso/a (that has value)

Famoso/a  (that is well-known)

Ruidoso/a (that is making noise)

Gracioso/a (that causes laughter)

• Suffix -ico/a

We use this suffix to indicate relationship or belonging. Examples of adjectives with the suffix -ico/a:

Lógico/a (related to logic).

Mágico/a (related to magic)

Cómico/a (related to comedy)

Técnico/a (related to technique)

Artístico/a (related to art)

• Suffix -al:

We use this suffix to express relationships or belonging. Examples of adjectives with suffix -al:

Cultural (related to culture)

Natural (related to nature)

Personal (related to the person)

Social (related to society)

Editorial (related to publishing)

• Suffix -ente/a:

We use this suffix to indicate an action or quality. Examples of adjectives with suffix -al-ente/a:

Inteligente (that has intelligence)

Presente (that is in a place)

Evidente (that is obvious)

Paciente (that has patience)

Competente  (that is competent)

• Suffix -ivo/a:

We use this suffix to indicate a tendency or inclination toward something. Examples of adjectives with -ivo/a suffix:

Evasivo/a  (evading)

Creativo/a (having creativity)

Persuasivo/a (persuading)

Adictivo/a (addictive)

Productivo/a (producing a lot)

• Suffix -ino/a

We use this suffix to indicate origin or belonging. Examples of adjectives with the suffix -ino/a:

Cercano/a (related to closeness).

Marino/a (related to the sea)

Tibio/a (has warm temperature)

Divino/a (related to the divine)

Venezolano/a (from Venezuela)

Adjective phrases

An adjective phrase is a group of words that acts as an adjective to describe a noun. These phrases usually include an adjective and other words that add extra information. Examples of adjective phrases:

• El hombre de ojos verdes es simpático (the green-eyed man is nice)
• La mesa de madera es nueva (the wooden table is new)
• El coche de color azul es mío (the blue car is mine)
• El chico con gafas es mi amigo (the guy with glasses is my friend)
• El vestido de seda es hermoso (the silk dress is beautiful)

Adjective sentences (subordinated adjectives)

Adjective sentences or subordinate adjectives are sentences that describe the noun in the main sentence. These sentences usually begin with relative pronouns such as que (that/what),  cual (which) or cuyo (whose). Examples of adjective sentences:

• El perro que ladra mucho es molesto (the dog that barks a lot is annoying)
• La tienda que está cerca es nueva (the shop nearby is new)
• El hombre que ves allí es mi tío (the man you see there is my uncle)
• El gato que adoptamos es negro (the cat we adopted is black)
• La mujer que trabaja aquí es amable (the woman who works here is kind)

Adjectives and prepositions in English

Some adjectives are combined with certain prepositions to give full meaning to an idea or action. This combination is quite common and can vary depending on the context or verb used in the sentence. 

The most common prepositions that often accompany adjectives are de (from), a (to), con (with), en (in), por (by), para (for) and sobre (on) Examples of adjective sentences:

• Estoy contento con mi trabajo (I’m happy with my job)
• Es amable con sus amigos (he’s nice to his friends)
• Ella es famosa por su música (she is famous for her music)
• Soy bueno en matemáticas (I’m good at math)
• Es responsable de su tarea (responsible for his task)

Summary

Adjectives are an essential part of the Spanish language, as they help us to describe and give more details about nouns. From possessive to comparative and superlative adjectives, understanding how adjectives are used and where they should be placed in a sentence is key to being able to communicate effectively in Spanish. 

Learning what adjectives are, and knowing their use according to their different types, will allow you to enrich your vocabulary and express yourself in an increasingly precise way. ¡ Continue practicing your adjectives through the Promova language app!