Adjectives
Open the Adjectives hub from the Adjectives tile on the Self Study screen. The Spanish catalogue has over 290 adjectives, each with its four forms (masculine and feminine, singular and plural). The hub covers agreement, shortening, position, comparison and how an adjective becomes an adverb. It has the usual Theory / Study / Practice layout.
Under the title, a badge shows how many adjectives you are working with. It counts the agreement classes you ticked in Select adjective groups, narrowed by your level and the topics in Select word scope. The badge turns red when nothing is left to drill.
The hub has these screens:
- Select groups (Practice) — opens Select adjective groups: tick the agreement classes you want.
- Adjective grammar (Theory): agreement, plurals, shortening, position and comparison.
- Reference (Study) — opens Adjective reference: the selected adjectives.
- Ser/estar shifts reference (Study): adjectives whose meaning changes with ser or estar, both senses side by side. This is the same list as in Traps.
- Meaning (Practice) — opens Adjective meaning.
- Agreement drill, Shortening drill and Comparisons (Practice).
Nothing you do on the selection, Theory and Study screens is recorded. Every answer in a drill is recorded.
Select adjective groups
Spanish adjectives fall into three agreement classes:
| Class | Example |
|---|---|
| Variable (-o / -a) | rápido / rápida / rápidos / rápidas |
| Invariant (-e) | grande / grandes |
| Invariant (consonant) | fácil / fáciles |
Tap a class to switch it on or off. Tap ⓘ for an explanation of the class and a Browse all adjectives row that lists its members. Adjectives of nationality and those in -or, -án, -ón, -Ãn end in a consonant but count as variable, because they have a feminine in -a: español → española, trabajador → trabajadora.
The line at the top shows how many adjectives you selected and how many of those are left within your level and Select word scope. The Select word scope row takes you there.
Adjective grammar
This Theory page has five sections:
- Agreement: an adjective takes the gender and number of its noun. Una casa alta, un edificio alto, casas altas, edificios altos: one adjective, four forms, all decided by the noun.
- Forming plurals: add -s after an unstressed vowel (alto → altos, grande → grandes) and -es after a consonant (fácil → fáciles). A final -z becomes -ces (feliz → felices). A written accent on a final -án, -ón, -Ãn disappears in the plural (alemán → alemanes, común → comunes). Joven gains one: jóvenes.
- Shortening (apócope): a few adjectives lose their ending directly before a masculine singular noun: bueno → buen, malo → mal, primero → primer, tercero → tercer, alguno → algún, ninguno → ningún. Grande → gran and cualquiera → cualquier shorten before a singular noun of either gender: una gran ciudad, cualquier persona. Santo → san before most masculine names (san Pedro), but santo Tomás, santo Domingo. After the noun, and after ser or estar, the full form is used: un hombre bueno, el dÃa es bueno.
- Position: most adjectives follow the noun (una casa blanca). Some change meaning when they come first: un gran hombre (a great man) and un hombre grande (a big man), un viejo amigo (an old friend, of long standing) and un amigo viejo (an elderly friend), el pobre niño (the unfortunate child) and el niño pobre (the child without money).
- Comparison: más … que, menos … que, tan … como. The superlative puts the article in front: la más rápida. Four adjectives have an irregular comparative: bueno → mejor, malo → peor, grande → mayor, pequeño → menor. Mayor and menor are used mainly for age (mi hermano mayor). The suffix -Ãsimo means "very": altÃsimo.
Adjective reference
A list of the selected adjectives with their translations, in alphabetical order, with an A–Z index and a search field. Search matches the adjective or its translation and ignores accents. Tap an adjective to open its page. The page shows the four forms, the agreement class, the short form if there is one, and the irregular comparative if there is one.
Adjective meaning
Flashcards for the meaning of each adjective. The card shows the masculine singular form (rápido), and you recall the translation, or the other way round. See Word meaning for how the flashcards work.
How the choice drills work
The Agreement drill, Shortening drill and Comparisons here, and the choice drills in the Pronouns, Numerals and Prepositions hubs, all work the same way:
- At the top is the Incorrect answers switch. Turn it on to practise only the items you have got wrong and have not yet mastered.
- The header shows Question 3 of 20 and your score so far.
- The screen says what to do (for example "Which form of bueno goes with this noun?"), shows the material and lists the options. Tap an option. The correct answer turns green with a tick. If you chose wrong, your answer turns red with a cross. In the sentence drills, the option you tap fills the gap, so you can read the whole sentence.
- Tap Next, and after the last question See results. At the end, tap New session for a new round.
The number of questions comes from Questions per session in Settings → Study. Which items come up depends on your earlier answers. Learning pace in the same place sets the mix of new and weak items.
Agreement drill
You see a noun with its gender and number, for example casas (houses (f.pl)), and the task "Which form of alto goes with this noun?". Pick the form that agrees with the noun. The options are the adjective's different forms, so an invariant adjective such as fácil has only two. Opened from a Practice set that contains adjectives, the drill uses the set's adjectives instead of your selection; the nouns are the drill's own, and the session is recorded under the set.
Shortening drill
This drill uses the adjectives that have a short form: bueno (buen), malo (mal) and grande (gran). You see a short phrase with a gap, and the task "Which form of bueno completes the phrase?". There are always two options: the short form and a full form. The phrase takes one of four shapes, and the drill cycles through them:
| Phrase | Answer |
|---|---|
| un ___ libro | buen, mal, gran: shortening applies |
| un libro ___ | bueno, malo, grande: the adjective comes after the noun |
| una ___ idea | buena, mala, but gran |
| unos ___ libros | buenos, malos, grandes: shortening only applies in the singular |
The feminine phrase tests the difference between the two rules: grande shortens before any singular noun, bueno and malo only before a masculine one.
Comparisons
A sentence drill for comparing: más, menos, tan and tanto, and the irregular mejor, peor, mayor and menor. You see a sentence in your language, such as "Madrid is bigger than Toledo.", and the Spanish sentence with a gap: Madrid es ___ grande que Toledo. Choose the word (más). It does not use your adjective selection: the sentences are the drill's own. See The choice drills.
Recommended workflow
- Start with all agreement classes switched on and a low level in Scheme and level (the chip with the flag).
- Run Meaning until the common adjectives are familiar.
- Add the Agreement drill to practise gender and number.
- When agreement is automatic, add the Shortening drill.