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3.2.0: Gramática

  • Page ID
    282903

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    Los adjetivos descriptivos

    Let’s talk about the words we can use to describe nouns --los adjetivos descriptivos (descriptive adjectives).

    Definition: Adjetivo

    An adjective describes a noun - this unit we will learn a lot of adjetivos descriptivos, descriptive adjectives, to describe physical appearance and personality traits.

    What do you notice about adjectives in these examples?

    Modelo:

    • ¡La familia de Mariana es muy amable!
    • Ellos son muy divertidos y graciosos.
    • La familia lejana de Mariana es grande.
    • Mi familia mexicana es muy cariñosa.

    Yes! You guessed! Descriptive adjectives in Spanish must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe. This is different from English. Another difference is that adjectives are usually placed after the noun they describe (e.g., la familia lejana).

     

    Important rules for adjectives:

    • Gender and number (plurality) agreement: adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender (masculino o feminino) and number (singular o plural)
    • Placement: descriptive adjectives go after the noun they describe

    You already know some descriptive adjectives in the first module. And here we offer you more!

     

    Describimos la apariencia física

    alto

    tall

    bajo

    short (height)

    pequeño

    small

    grande

    big

    delgado/flaco

    thin

    gordo

    fat

    moreno

    with dark hair/dark-skinned

    güero/rubio

    blonde or light-skinned

    pelirrojo

    red headed

    calvo

    bald

     

    Describimos la personalidad

    abierto/a

    open-minded/open

    aburrido/a

    boring

    amable

    nice

    antipático/a

    unfriendly

    cómico/gracioso/a

    funny/witty

    cariñoso/a

    loving, affectionate

    divertido/a

    fun

    grosero/a

    rude

    perezoso/a

    lazy

    simpático/a

    friendly

    tímido/a

    shy

    trabajador/a

    hard-working

     

    Los cognados: These words are very similar in Spanish and English. What do they mean? Write the meaning next to the word in Spanish.

    Los cognados

    ansioso/a

     

    complicado/a

     

    difícil

     

    energético/a

     

    extrovertido/a

     

    introvertido/a

     

    liberal

     

    conservador/a

     

    moderno/a

     

    nervioso/a

     

    optimista

     

    pesimista

     

    perfeccionista

     

    sociable

     

     

    Ser and Tener

    You have already learned the verb Ser in Unit 1. You may use Ser conjugations with any of the descriptive adjectives we have learned so far.

    Modelo:

    • Yo soy morena.
    • Él es rubio.
    • Ellos son altos.
    • Nosotros somos inteligentes.
    ¡Ojo!

    There are a few exceptions that will use Tener conjugations when you describe hair (color and length) and eyes (color). We will learn the verb Tener more formally in Unit 4. For right now, become familiar with the following phrases:

    • Hair:
      • Yo tengo pelo moreno.
      • Él tiene pelo rubio.
      • Ella tiene pelo corto.
    • Eyes:
      • Yo tengo ojos azules.
      • Tú tienes ojos marrones.
      • Élla tiene ojos verdes.

     

    Use this chat mat as you converse with others:

    mi identidad y descripciones image.png

    Attribution: SraCarson

     


    This page titled 3.2.0: Gramática is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by .

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