In Spanish, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural):
La estatua es muy bonita.
The statue is really beautiful.
Ellos quieren comprar una casa grande.
They want to buy a big house.
La familia tiene dos coches pequeños.
The family has two small cars.
Masculine adjectives ending -o usually get an -a ending in the feminine.
Mi reloj es nuevo.
My watch is new.
Esta casa parece nueva.
This house looks new.
The adjectives ending in -e have the same forms in masculine and feminine:
Ella tiene una casa grande.
She has a big house.
Él tiene los ojos grandes.
He has big eyes.
Adjective Inflection by Adjective Ending
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | pequeño | pequeña |
| plural | pequeños | pequeñas |
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | grande | grande |
| plural | grandes | grandes |
| masculine | feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| singular | difícil | difícil |
| plural | difíciles | difíciles |
Adjective Placement
Note that in Spanish, adjectives are usually placed after the noun. In this case, it expresses something essential about the noun or distinguishes it from other nouns:
Voy a tirar la pelota vieja a la basura.
I will throw the old ball away.
Sometimes the adjective can be placed before the noun. In this case, the adjective expresses something that is self-evident:
Hubo un terrible terremoto.
There was a terrible earthquake.
In some cases the placement of the adjective expresses a difference in meaning:
Nosotros compramos un coche nuevo.
We bought a new car. (a brand new car, straight from the factory)
Nosotros compramos un nuevo coche.
We bought a new car. (probably a used car, new for the speakers)