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Spanish Lesson 3

LESSON 3
by George Wu
Online Spanish for Expats
ADJECTIVES-1
Spanish adjectives are similar to English adjectives from standpoints of modifying nouns and to the lesser extent pronouns, all in numbers only. That’s where the similarities end and differences begin. To start out with, Spanish adjectives not only take care of nouns and verbs coinciding with them, but also gender, yes, gender. Here are a few examples:
Las muchachas lindas and numerosas de Nicaragua se abundan en Granada..
Pretty and numerous Nicaraguan girls abound in Granada
Soy una mujer bien pensiva.   (She’s a female philosopher).
I am a thinking woman.
Soy pequeña pero lista.  (Watch out!)
I am small (in stature) but smart.
Take note of the a and as in above examples.
Yes, Spanish adjectives take into account four things: Nouns labeling single or plural, masculine or feminine, verbs following the noun, and genders coinciding with the noun.The fourth has to do with emphasis — whenever you use a QUALITY adjective, emphasize it in speaking terms.
Secondly, the placement angle becomes radically distinct. English adjectives follow the noun, whereas Spanish adjectives can be placed either before or after the noun. What rules them? Let’s see.
adjective                                           before English noun                                after English noun
different                                             various                                                 different
grand                                                 great                                                     big
new                                                    different                                                new
poor                                                    unfortunate                                           poverty-stricken
proper                                                 own                                                      characteristic
simple                                                  mere                                                    simple-minded
certain                                                  certain                                                  definite
various                                                 several                                                  miscellaneous
I’ll give you a Spansh example, but I want you to email me using any of the above adjectives not used by me.
proper                                                   own   (biz)                                                   characteristic
                                                            Tengo un negocio propio.             (see below)
Tengo un propio negocio para niños.  See the tremendous difference?
I’ll show this difference for now, as I intend to signal other adjective differences in my next lesson. Be sure to email me at [email protected] using the difference in Spanish adjectives shown above. Don’t worry about errors, I’ll try to correct them.