Overview of Adjectives and Articles

1. Los Adjetivos (Adjectives)

Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. There are many different types of adjectives: articles, descriptive adjectives, quantitative adjectives, and demonstrative adjectives.

No matter the type of adjective, it must agree in number and in gender with the noun that it modifies:

• If the noun is masculine and singular, the adjective must be masculine and singular.
• If the noun is masculine and plural, the adjective must be masculine and plural.
• If the noun is feminine and singular, the adjective must be feminine and singular.
• If the noun is feminine and plural, the adjective must be feminine and plural.

2. Los Artículos (Articles)

Articles are adjectives that always come before nouns. This rule applies in both English and Spanish.

EXAMPLE

"The car" is "el carro."

All articles (like any other adjective) have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural.

There are two kinds of articles:

• Definite
• Indefinite

Definite articles refer to specific objects, such as "el amigo" (the friend). These articles are used much more frequently in Spanish than in English.

You've already learned the singular definite articles: el and la. The plural forms are los and las. They all mean the. The table below provides an example of these different forms.

2b. Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles refer to non-specific objects, such as "un amigo" (a friend).

The singular forms are un and una, which mean a or an. The plural forms are unos and unas, which mean some. The table below again provides an example of these different forms.