Adjective Position
Spanish adjectives may be found before or after the nouns they modify, depending on various factors. Generally speaking, descriptive adjectives follow nouns, while limiting adjectives precede nouns.
Adjectives
B1 - Intermediate Spanish • word order
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun: its shape, color size, etc. Spanish adjectives are very different from English adjectives, for two reasons.
A1 - Beginning Spanish • agreement • lesson plans • plurals
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner express how the action of a verb occurs. In English, the vast majority of adverbs of manner end in -ly, whereas in Spanish, they mostly end in –mente.
A1 - Beginning Spanish • suffixes
Augmentatives
In Spanish, suffixes called augmentatives can be added to nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and names to indicate bigness, as well as other ideas such as excessiveness, contempt, or disdain. In this way, you can say that something is big without adding an adjective like grande to indicate bigness or repugnante to indicate contempt.
B1 - Intermediate Spanish • suffixes
Cuyo – Relative Adjective
Cuyo is a relative adjective that means “whose,” “of whom,” or “of which.” It indicates the noun which is the object of the clause that follows it.
C1 - Advanced Spanish • formalities • plurals • possession
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives (this, that) are used to indicate a specific noun or nouns. In Spanish, they must agree with the noun(s) in gender and number, and there are 3 different sets: este, ese, aquel.
A2 - Low-Intermediate Spanish • agreement • demonstratives • lesson plans
Demonstrative Adjectives Quiz
Test yourself on Spanish demonstrative adjectives with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise:
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Diminutives
In Spanish, suffixes called diminutives can be added to nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and names to indicate smallness, as well as other ideas such as affection, humor, pity, irony, or ridicule. In this way, you can say that something is little without adding an adjective like pequeño to indicate smallness or querido to indicate affection.
A2 - Low-Intermediate Spanish • plurals • suffixes
Exclamative Adjectives
To express admiration, surprise, contempt, or another strong feeling (positive or negative) about a noun, you can use the Spanish exclamative adjectives qué and cuánto.
Fractions
In both Spanish and English, there’s a lot of overlap between fractions and ordinals: the vast majority of these two types of numbers share the same word. In English, they are identical from “third” on up, while in Spanish they’re the same starting with cuarto.