Nouns, Articles and Adjectives

Q: What is the rule for forming the plural of a Spanish noun ending in -z ?

Change the -z to a -c and add -es (e.g., el lápiz → los lápices , la vez → las veces ).

Q: What do Spanish diminutive and augmentative suffixes express?

Diminutives (such as -ito/-ita ) convey small size or affection, while augmentatives (such as -ón/-ona , -azo/-aza ) indicate large size, clumsiness, or an emphatic blow/success.

Q: How are regular comparisons of superiority, inferiority, and equality formed in Spanish?

Superiority: más + adj + que ; Inferiority: menos + adj + que ; Equality: tan + adj + como .

Q: What are the four irregular comparative adjective forms in Spanish that do not take más ?

Mejor (better), peor (worse), mayor (older/greater), and menor (younger/lesser).

Q: How do Spanish demonstrative adjectives distinguish between items near the speaker, near the listener, and far from both?

Use este/esta/estos/estas (near speaker), ese/esa/esos/esas (near listener), and aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas (far from both).

Q: How does the relative adjective cuyo agree with words in a sentence?

Cuyo ("whose") agrees in gender and number with the noun that follows it (the thing possessed), not the possessor.

Spanish 5750 · CCEA AS Level · 12 min read · Updated: 3 Sept 2026

Mastering Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives for CCEA AS Level Spanish

Welcome to your complete grammar revision guide for Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives. Whether you feel totally confident with Spanish grammar or sometimes find agreements and word endings tricky, this guide breaks down every requirement of the CCEA AS Level specification into clear, manageable steps.

Mastering these foundational building blocks will dramatically improve your accuracy in AS writing, speaking, and reading tasks. Let's take it step by step!

1. Nouns (Los Sustantivos)

Gender of Nouns

Every Spanish noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine.

Typical Rules:
• Most nouns ending in -o are masculine: el libro (the book), el chico (the boy).
• Most nouns ending in -a, -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, and -tud are feminine: la casa (the house), la lección (the lesson), la ciudad (the city), la libertad (freedom), la juventud (youth).

Important Exceptions to Watch Out For:
• Greek-origin words ending in -ma, -pa, or -ta are masculine: el problema (the problem), el sistema (the system), el tema (the theme/topic), el mapa (the map), el planeta (the planet).
• Common exceptions ending in -o that are feminine: la mano (the hand), la foto (the photo - short for fotografía), la moto (the motorbike - short for motocicleta), la radio (the radio).
• Words ending in -ista or -ante can refer to both genders: el/la artista (the artist), el/la estudiante (the student).

Forming Plurals

• If the noun ends in a vowel, add -s: el libro → los libros, la casa → las casas.
• If the noun ends in a consonant, add -es: el papel → los papeles, la mujer → las mujeres.
• If the noun ends in -z, change the z to c and add -es: el lápiz → los lápices, la vez → las veces.
• Accent marks may be lost or gained to preserve the correct pronunciation: el examen → los exámenes, la canción → las canciones.

Plural of Male/Female Pairs

In Spanish, the masculine plural form is traditionally used to denote a pair or group consisting of both males and females:
• Los reyes = The King and Queen (or the Monarchs / Three Wise Men)
• Los padres = The parents (the father and mother)
• Los hermanos = The brothers and sisters (siblings)
• Los hijos = The sons and daughters (children)

Affective Suffixes (Receptive Knowledge - R)

In Spanish texts, you will often encounter suffixes attached to the end of nouns to convey subtle shades of meaning, such as size, affection, or intensity.

1. Diminutives (-ito / -ita, -illo / -illa):
These indicate smallness or affection/warmth.
• un perro (a dog) → un perrito (a cute little dog / puppy)
• un momento (a moment) → un momentito (just a tiny second)
• un chico (a boy) → un chiquillo (a young lad / little kid)

2. Augmentatives (-ón / -ona, -azo / -aza):
These indicate large size, clumsiness, or an emphatic blow/hit.
• una mujer (a woman) → una mujerona (a tall/imposing woman)
• un golpe (a hit) → un golpazo (a massive blow)
• un éxito (a success) → un exitazo (a huge hit/blockbuster)

Key Takeaway for Nouns: Always learn every new noun with its article (el or la) so you automatically store its gender in your memory.

2. Articles (Los Artículos)

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Articles must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they introduce.

Definite Articles ("The"):
• Masculine Singular: el (el chico)
• Feminine Singular: la (la chica)
• Masculine Plural: los (los chicos)
• Feminine Plural: las (las chicas)

Indefinite Articles ("A / An / Some"):
• Masculine Singular: un (un libro)
• Feminine Singular: una (una revista)
• Masculine Plural: unos (unos libros - some books)
• Feminine Plural: unas (unas revistas - some magazines)

Feminine Nouns Beginning with Stressed 'a' or 'ha'

The Rule: Singular feminine nouns that start with a stressed 'a-' or 'ha-' take the masculine article el or un instead of la or una. This prevents two stressed 'a' sounds from clashing together.

Examples:
• el agua (the water) — NOT la agua
• el águila (the eagle)
• el hambre (hunger) → Tengo mucho hambre
• el área (the area)
• el alma (the soul)

Crucial Catch: The noun itself remains feminine! Therefore:
1. Plurals revert to las: las aguas, las águilas, las áreas.
2. Any accompanying adjective must stay feminine: el agua fría (the cold water), el águila negra (the black eagle).

The Neuter Article 'Lo' + Adjective

Spanish has a neuter article, lo. It is never used with a noun directly. Instead, when combined with a masculine singular adjective, it translates to "the ... thing", "what is ...", or an abstract concept.

Examples:
• lo bueno = the good thing / what is good
• lo malo = the bad thing / what is bad
• lo importante es estudiar = the important thing is to study
• lo difícil de este tema = the difficult thing about this topic / what is difficult about this topic

Key Takeaway for Articles: El agua is feminine despite having el. Use lo + adjective to express abstract ideas without needing a specific noun.

3. Adjectives (Los Adjetivos)

Adjective Agreement

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in both gender and number with the noun they describe.

• Adjectives ending in -o: el coche blanco, la casa blanca, los coches blancos, las casas blancas.
• Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant: keep the same form for masculine and feminine: un chico inteligente / una chica inteligente; un examen difícil / una tarea difícil.
• Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant add -a for feminine: español / española, inglés / inglesa, alemán / alemana.

Position of Adjectives

1. After the Noun (Standard Rule): Most descriptive adjectives come after the noun they modify.
• un libro interesante (an interesting book)
• una falda roja (a red skirt)

2. Before the Noun: Limiting adjectives (numbers, demonstratives, possessives, quantities) and certain stylistic adjectives expressing an inherent quality come before the noun.
• muchas personas (many people)
• la blanca nieve (the white snow - poetic / inherent quality)

Apocopation (Shortening of Adjectives)

Certain adjectives drop their final vowel or syllable when they are placed immediately before a masculine singular noun.

• bueno → buen: un buen amigo (a good friend) vs un amigo bueno
• malo → mal: un mal día (a bad day) vs un día malo
• primero → primer: el primer piso (the first floor)
• tercero → tercer: el tercer año (the third year)
• alguno → algún: algún problema (some/any problem)
• ninguno → ningún: ningún estudiante (no student / not a single student)

Special Case: Grande → Gran
Grande shortens to gran before both masculine and feminine singular nouns. Note the subtle shift in meaning:
• un gran hombre = a great / impressive man
• un hombre grande = a big / large man
• una gran ciudad = a great / magnificent city
• una ciudad grande = a large-sized city

Comparatives and Superlatives

1. Regular Comparisons:
• More ... than: más + adjective + que (Pedro es más alto que Juan)
• Less ... than: menos + adjective + que (Esta tarea es menos difícil que la otra)
• As ... as: tan + adjective + como (Elena es tan inteligente como su hermana)

2. Irregular Comparatives (Do NOT use 'más' with these):
• mejor (better) — comparative of bueno
• peor (worse) — comparative of malo
• mayor (older / greater) — comparative of grande / viejo
• menor (younger / lesser) — comparative of pequeño / joven
Example: Mi hermano es mayor que yo (My brother is older than me).

3. Superlatives:
• Formed using: el / la / los / las + más / menos + adjective + de
Example: Es la chica más lista de la clase (She is the cleverest girl in the class).
• Absolute Superlative (-ísimo): To say "extremely" or "very", add -ísimo/a/os/as:
fácil → facilísimo (extremely easy); rico → riquísimo (delicious / extremely rich).

Use of Adjectives as Nouns

In Spanish, you can drop the noun if it has already been mentioned or is obvious from context. In English, we say "the red one" or "the sad woman", but Spanish simply combines the article with the adjective:

• ¿Cuál prefieres? Prefiero la roja. (Which do you prefer? I prefer the red one.)
• Una triste canción → una triste (a sad one)
• Las norteamericanas llegaron ayer. (The North American women arrived yesterday.)

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstratives indicate where something is in relation to the speaker:

1. Near the speaker (This / These):
• Masculine: este (singular), estos (plural)
• Feminine: esta (singular), estas (plural)
Example: este libro (this book), estas casas (these houses)

2. Near the listener (That / Those):
• Masculine: ese (singular), esos (plural)
• Feminine: esa (singular), esas (plural)
Example: ese bolígrafo (that pen), esas chicas (those girls)

3. Far from both speaker and listener (That over there / Those over there):
• Masculine: aquel (singular), aquellos (plural)
• Feminine: aquella (singular), aquellas (plural)
Example: aquel edificio (that building over there), aquellas montañas (those mountains over there)

Memory Trick: "This" and "these" have 't's; "that" and "those" don't! (este/esta = this; ese/esa = that).

Indefinite Adjectives

Indefinite adjectives refer to non-specific people or things:
• alguno/a/os/as = some / any (shortens to algún before masculine singular: algún día)
• ninguno/a = no / not any / none (shortens to ningún: ninguna duda)
• cualquiera = any / whichever (shortens to cualquier before singular nouns: cualquier persona)
• otro/a/os/as = other / another (Note: never say un otro in Spanish; simply say otro libro)
• todo/a/os/as = all / every (todos los días = every day)

Possessive Adjectives

Spanish has two sets of possessive adjectives: weak (short) forms and strong (long) forms.

1. Weak Forms (Used before the noun):
• My: mi / mis (mi casa, mis amigos)
• Your (informal singular): tu / tus (tu coche, tus padres)
• His / Her / Its / Your (formal): su / sus (su idea, sus libros)
• Our: nuestro/a/os/as (nuestra madre, nuestros deberes)
• Your (informal plural): vuestro/a/os/as (vuestra clase, vuestros amigos)
• Their / Your (formal plural): su / sus (su proyecto, sus opiniones)

2. Strong Forms (Used after the noun for emphasis, e.g. "of mine", "of yours"):
• Mine / of mine: mío / mía / míos / mías
• Yours / of yours: tuyo / tuya / tuyos / tuyas
• His / Hers / Yours: suyo / suya / suyos / suyas
• Ours / of ours: nuestro / nuestra / nuestros / nuestras
• Yours / of yours (plural): vuestro / vuestra / vuestros / vuestras
• Theirs / of theirs: suyo / suya / suyos / suyas
Example: Un amigo mío (a friend of mine); ¡Dios mío! (My God!).

Interrogative and Exclamatory Adjectives

All interrogative and exclamatory words carry a written accent:

• ¿Qué...? / ¡Qué...! (What / What a...):
¿Qué libro estás leyendo? (What book are you reading?)
¡Qué lástima! (What a pity!) / ¡Qué buena idea! (What a great idea!)

• ¿Cuánto/a/os/as...? / ¡Cuánto/a/os/as...! (How much / How many):
¿Cuántas personas vienen? (How many people are coming?)
¡Cuánto dinero! (So much money!)

Relative Adjective: 'Cuyo' (Receptive Knowledge - R)

Cuyo translates to "whose". It is an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows it (the thing possessed), NOT the possessor!

• El autor cuyo libro leí (The author whose book I read)
• La mujer cuya hija conoces (The woman whose daughter you know)
• Los estudiantes cuyas notas mejoraron (The students whose grades improved)

4. Numerals, Dates, and Time

Cardinal Numbers (Los Números Cardinales)

• uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez...
• uno shortens to un before a masculine noun (un euro) and changes to una before a feminine noun (una chica).
• Numbers from 200 to 900 agree in gender with the noun:
doscientos chicos / doscientas chicas
cuatrocientos libros / cuatrocientas páginas

Ordinal Numbers (1st – 10th)

Ordinal numbers describe position in an order and must agree in gender and number with the noun:

• 1st: primero/a (shortens to primer before a masculine singular noun: el primer día)
• 2nd: segundo/a
• 3rd: tercero/a (shortens to tercer before a masculine singular noun: el tercer piso)
• 4th: cuarto/a
• 5th: quinto/a
• 6th: sexto/a
• 7th: séptimo/a
• 8th: octavo/a
• 9th: noveno/a
• 10th: décimo/a

Expressions of Date and Time

Dates:
• State the day using the masculine article el: el cinco de mayo (5th of May).
• Note: For the first day of the month, you can use el primero de... or el uno de... (e.g. el primero de junio).
• Years are read in thousands: en dos mil veinticinco (in 2025).

Time:
• Use es la for one o'clock: Es la una (It is one o'clock).
• Use son las for all other hours: Son las tres y media (It is half past three), Son las ocho menos cuarto (It is a quarter to eight).
• To say "at" a time, use a la / a las: La clase empieza a las nueve (The class starts at nine).

Quick Revision Checklist & Common Pitfalls

1. Check Your Endings: Always double-check noun and adjective agreement. If the noun is feminine plural (e.g., las decisiones), make sure the adjective ends in -as (e.g., importantes, correctas).
2. The 'El Agua' Trap: Remember that el agua is feminine. If you add an adjective, say el agua mineral está fría.
3. Apocopation Errors: Never write el primero día or un bueno amigo — always shorten them to el primer día and un buen amigo.
4. 'Tan' vs 'Tanto': Use tan + adjective + como for comparisons of equality with adjectives (tan alto como), not tanto.
5. Cuyo Agreement: Remember that cuyo agrees with what comes after it (el hombre cuya casa...).

Quick check

Can you answer these now?

Open each question to check the key ideas from this chapter.

Why are words of Greek origin ending in -ma, -pa, or -ta (such as problema or mapa) masculine in Spanish?

They are historical exceptions of Greek origin that take the masculine gender, requiring masculine articles and adjectives (e.g., el problema, el mapa, el planeta).

What is the rule for forming the plural of a Spanish noun ending in -z?

Change the -z to a -c and add -es (e.g., el lápiz → los lápices, la vez → las veces).

What do Spanish diminutive and augmentative suffixes express?

Diminutives (such as -ito/-ita) convey small size or affection, while augmentatives (such as -ón/-ona, -azo/-aza) indicate large size, clumsiness, or an emphatic blow/success.

Why do singular feminine nouns starting with a stressed a- or ha- take the masculine article el or un?

To avoid the awkward phonetic clash of two consecutive stressed 'a' sounds (e.g., el agua, el águila, el hambre).

How is the neuter article lo used with adjectives in Spanish?

Lo combines with a masculine singular adjective to refer to an abstract idea, translating as "the ... thing" or "what is ..." (e.g., lo bueno = "the good thing").

What is apocopation and when does the adjective grande shorten to gran?

Apocopation is the shortening of an adjective before a noun; grande shortens to gran before singular nouns of either gender, shifting its meaning to "great" or "magnificent".

How are regular comparisons of superiority, inferiority, and equality formed in Spanish?

Superiority: más + adj + que; Inferiority: menos + adj + que; Equality: tan + adj + como.

What are the four irregular comparative adjective forms in Spanish that do not take más?

Mejor (better), peor (worse), mayor (older/greater), and menor (younger/lesser).

How do Spanish demonstrative adjectives distinguish between items near the speaker, near the listener, and far from both?

Use este/esta/estos/estas (near speaker), ese/esa/esos/esas (near listener), and aquel/aquella/aquellos/aquellas (far from both).

How does the relative adjective cuyo agree with words in a sentence?

Cuyo ("whose") agrees in gender and number with the noun that follows it (the thing possessed), not the possessor.

Which Spanish cardinal numbers change their endings to agree in gender with the noun they modify?

Uno (becomes un before masculine and una before feminine) and hundreds from 200 to 900 (e.g., doscientos/doscientas).

How do you express the time in Spanish using ser and feminine articles?

Use es la for one o'clock (Es la una) and son las for all other hours (Son las tres).

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