0.1.3 Adjectives Flashcards
Adjectives, article-noun agreement
Translate to Spanish:
lots of money
mucho dinero
much, a lot - mucho
Translate to Spanish:
a little money
poco dinero
a little, few - poco
Translate to Spanish:
lots of kids
muchos niños
Note that when referring to a quantifiable plural noun, mucho becomes plural to “agree with” the plural noun.
(In this example, you could have also said muchos chicos.)
Translate to Spanish:
a big car
un carro grande
Note that, in Spanish, adjectives typically come after the noun that they modify.
Translate to Spanish:
a small house
una casa pequeña
small - pequeño.
In this case, the adjective was modified to end in “a” to agree with the feminine noun casa.
Translate to Spanish:
The house is big.
La casa es grande.
is - es.
This form of the verb ser (“to be”) is used to describe permanent characteristics of individual things.
Translate to Spanish:
a very small car
un carro muy pequeño
very - muy.
Muy can be used to modify any adjective and, as an adverb, does not have to agree in quantity or gender.
(e.g. Carros muy grandes or casas muy pequeñas are other potential phrases you could make.)
Translate to Spanish:
here
aquí / acá
These adverbs are relatively interchangeable. Their distinction varies by region, with very slight nuances in meaning depending on the dialect and situation. They both translate pretty consistently to “here” in English.
Translate to Spanish:
there
ahí / allí / allá
The adverb ahí tends to refer to things or people who are very close to the speaker, while allá refers to things that are very far away (i.e. “way over there” - allá).
But again, the nuances in difference between these versions of “there” are pretty regional, and you’ll likely pick them up based on where you’re traveling. When in doubt, you can just say allí for “there”, and it works pretty well.
Translate to Spanish:
There is a car over there.
Hay un carro allí.
There is - hay
Translate to Spanish:
There are a lot of girls here.
Hay muchas chicas aquí.
There are - hay.
Note that the English phrases “there is” and “there are” both translate to simply hay in Spanish.
The word hay does not have to agree with the quantity or gender of the noun(s) it introduces.
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
¿Hay muchas casas grandes aquí?
Translation: “Are there a lot of big houses here?”
Note that you can simply add a question inflection to the end of a sentence that starts with Hay (“There are”), and automatically turn it into a question (“Are there?”), without changing the word hay.
Translate to Spanish:
a person
una persona
Note that the word persona is always feminine, even if referring to a guy. Confusing, we know.
Translate to Spanish:
two people
dos personas
Translate to Spanish:
people
la gente
Note that la gente acts as a singular noun because it means “people” only collectively. For example, you’d say mucha gente, but muchas personas.
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
Mujer: ¿Hay mucha gente allí?
Hombre: No, hay poca gente aquí.
Translation: “Are there a lot of people there?” / “No, there are few people here.”
Translate to Spanish:
a big dog
un perro grande
dog - el perro. A female dog would be una perra.
Translate to Spanish:
Is the dog big?
¿Es grande el perro?
Note the inversion of the sentence to form a question. In Spanish descriptive questions, the verb and adjective often come first, while the noun (subject) comes after.
However, you still could have asked ¿Es el perro grande?
Translate to Spanish:
Is the cat small?
¿Es pequeño el gato?
cat - el gato. A female cat would be una gata.
Translate to Spanish:
a new car
un carro nuevo
new - nuevo
Translate to Spanish:
an old woman
una mujer vieja
old - viejo.
Note that in some countries nowadays, it can be perceived as rude to call a person viejo. A more politically correct phrase might be just mayor or de tercera edad.
Translate to Spanish:
a young man
un hombre joven
“young - joven.
Note that this adjective is the same for both masculine and feminine nouns, but it does change to jóvenes when modifying a plural noun (e.g. hombres jóvenes).”
Translate to Spanish:
a baby
un bebé / una bebé
Note that bebé is the same word whether it’s a male or female baby. The gender of the baby is actually conveyed by the article that is chosen (el vs la, or un vs una).
e.g. Una bebé would be a female baby.
Translate to Spanish:
a cute baby
un bebé lindo / un bebé bonito
cute - lindo, bonito
Translate to Spanish:
some cute babies
unos bebés lindos
Note that the adjectives should match the noun in number, that is, if the noun is singular, then the adjective should be in the singular form (i.e. bebé lindo).
But if the noun is plural, then the adjective should be in the plural form.
Translate to Spanish:
a handsome young man
un hombre guapo y joven
attractive, handsome - guapo
Note that you separate Spanish adjectives modifying a noun with a y (“and”), just as you would separate two nouns with a y.
Translate to Spanish:
an attractive woman
una mujer guapa
attractive, good-looking (feminine) - guapa
Translate to Spanish:
a lady
una dama
The word dama is a more “classy” term for mujer, in the same way we would use “lady” for a classy woman in English.
You might see the word Damas on a bathroom sign for the ladies room.
Translate to Spanish:
a pretty lady
una dama bonita
pretty - bonita.
You could also say linda. Both words can also have a connotation more like “cute” in certain contexts (but not likely with the word dama).
Translate to Spanish:
a beautiful woman
una mujer hermosa
beautiful, gorgeous - hermoso, bello
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
¡Ay, qué lindo!
Translation: “Oh, how cute!”
Note that in Spanish, the word Qué (technically “What”) is often used to express amazement at the strength of an adjective. Especially when it has an exclamation point. e.g. ¡Qué grande! is like saying “Whoa, so big!”
Without an exclamation point, starting a declarative sentence with Qué is just more like “That is” or “It is.”
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
¡Guau, qué hermoso!
Translation: “Wow, how beautiful!”
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
“¡Uy, qué fea!”
Translation: “Eew, how ugly!”
ugly - feo
