Cheatsheet: Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs

Point	Rule	Example	English
Ending in -o	four forms: -o / -a / -os / -as	un libro blanco / unas casas blancas	a white book / some white houses
Ending in -e or a consonant	one form for both genders	un examen fácil / una pregunta fácil	an easy exam / an easy question
Nationality	a consonant ending adds -a for the feminine	un chico español / una chica española	a Spanish boy / a Spanish girl
Plural	-s after a vowel, -es after a consonant	verde → verdes / azul → azules
Position	after the noun as a rule	un vestido rojo	a red dress
Mixed group	masculine and feminine nouns together take the masculine plural	Juan y Ana son simpáticos.	Juan and Ana are nice.
A2-or	adds -a for the feminine	una mujer trabajadora	a hard-working woman
B1buen / mal	bueno and malo drop -o before a masculine singular noun	un buen libro / un mal día	a good book / a bad day
B1gran	grande becomes gran before any singular noun and means great	una gran idea / un gran país	a great idea / a great country
Trap	the noun's gender decides, even when it ends in -a	el mapa nuevo	the new map

Point	Rule	Example	English
más + adjective + que	more … than	El avión es más rápido que el tren.	The plane is faster than the train.
menos + adjective + que	less … than	La fruta es menos cara que la carne.	Fruit is less expensive than meat.
tan + adjective + como	as … as	Mi casa es tan grande como la tuya.	My house is as big as yours.
mejor / peor	mejor and peor compare bueno and malo	Este café es mejor que ese.	This coffee is better than that one.
mayor / menor	older and younger, for people	Mi hermano es mayor que yo.	My brother is older than me.
B1Superlative	el / la / los / las + más + adjective + de + group	Es la más alta de la clase.	She's the tallest in the class.
B1-ísimo	very with more force: drop the last vowel and add -ísimo	La comida está buenísima.	The food is really good.
B1más de	más de and menos de before a number	Hay más de cien personas.	There are more than a hundred people.
tanto / tanta / tantos / tantas + noun + como	as much or as many: it agrees with the noun	No tengo tantos libros como tú.	I don't have as many books as you.
verb + tanto como	tanto after a verb never changes	Trabajas tanto como yo.	You work as much as I do.
B1igual de + adjective + que	just as	Es igual de alto que su padre.	He's just as tall as his father.
Trap	after que and como, the subject pronoun	Eres más alto que yo.	You are taller than me.

Point	Rule	Example	English
bien / mal	the adverbs of bueno and malo	Hablas bien español.	You speak Spanish well.
muy	before an adjective or an adverb	Es muy simpática.	She's very nice.
mucho	after a verb; as an adverb it never changes	Trabajo mucho.	I work a lot.
Place	aquí / ahí / allí: here, there, over there	El libro está aquí.	The book is here.
acá / allá	very frequent in Latin America, above all in Mexico and the Southern Cone, beside aquí and allí	Vivo acá.	I live here.
Time	hoy / mañana / ahora / después	Mañana tengo clase.	Tomorrow I have class.
Frequency	siempre / normalmente / todos los días / a veces	Siempre desayuno en casa.	I always have breakfast at home.
A2nunca	before the verb, or after it with no in front	Nunca bebo café. / No bebo café nunca.	I never drink coffee. / I never drink coffee.
también / tampoco	también agrees with a positive, tampoco with a negative	No tengo hambre. — Yo tampoco.	I'm not hungry. — Me neither.
A2-mente	feminine adjective + -mente	lenta → lentamente / fácil → fácilmente
A2ya / todavía	ya: already; todavía: still; todavía no: not yet	Todavía vivo con mis padres.	I still live with my parents.
A2Trap	the adjective keeps its written accent before -mente	rápida → rápidamente