Plurals Tips and notes
Plural nouns are those nouns that end in "s" and "es" in order to show that there is more
than one of a thing.
Rules for pluralizing nouns in Spanish are as follows:
If the word ends in a vowel, add the letter s to make it plural. For example, "nio" becomes
"nios".
If the word ends in a consonant, add the letters es to make it plural. For example "profesor"
becomes "profesores".
One important exception occurs in these rules: With words that end in z, the z changes to c
before we add es. For example, "lapiz" becomes "lapices".
Adjectives that modify nouns must also be pluralized to show agreement. For example,
when pluralizing a phrase such as "el nio alto", all three parts must change. El becomes
los, nio becomes nios, and alto becomes altos so that the phrase reads "los nios altos".
Notice, the form of "the" must also match so that all three parts of the phrase agree in
number - they are all pluralized.
Possessive Determiners
Tips and notes
Possessive determiners are adjectives that are used to show ownership, such as "my" in
"my dog." There are five possessive determiners in Spanish:
Spanish
English
mi
my
tu
your (familiar singular)
su
his, her, your (formal), their
nuestro
our
vuestro
your (familiar plural, used in Spain)
The first three of these have only two forms, singular and plural:
Singular
Plural
mi
mis
tu
tus
su
sus
For example, "my dog" is "mi perro" and "my dogs" is "mis perros."
"Mi", "tu" and "su" do not have masculine and feminine forms, so for example you say "mi
gato" and also "mi gata."
Nuestro and vuestro have four forms depending on the gender and number of the noun
being referred to:
Singular
Masculine
Plural
Masculine
Singular
Feminine
Plural
Feminine
nuestro
nuestros
nuestra
nuestras
vuestro
vuestros
vuestra
vuestras
For example, it is "nuestro gato," "nuestra gata," "nuestros gatos," and "nuestras gatas."
Long-form Possesive Adjectives and Pronouns
The determiners above are always used before the noun. Spanish has an additional "longform" way to describe possession, which usually comes after the noun:
Spanish
English
mo, mos, ma, mas
mine, my
tuyo, tuyos, tuya, tuyas
yours, your (familiar singular)
suyo, suyos, suya, suyas
his, hers, yours (formal), your (formal), theirs,
their
nuestro, nuestros, nuestra,
nuestras
ours, our
vuestro, vuestros, vuestra,
yours, your (familiar plural, used in Spain)
Spanish
English
vuestras
"El gato es mo" means "The cat is mine."
Note that the possessive adjectives vary by number and gender. The change is with the
nouns they modify, not with the person(s) who possess the object. For example, for a male
cat you say "El gato es tuyo" (The cat is yours) regardless of whether you are talking to a
man or a woman.
The short form and long forms of nuestro and vuestro and related pronouns are identical.
They differ only as to whether they are used before or after the noun.
Tu Versus T
The two words "tu" and "t" are pronounced the same. "T" is the personal pronoun
meaning "you" (informal), and "tu" is the possessive adjective meaning "your" (informal).
Tips and notes
Present Tense Verb Endings
In Spanish, the verb endings change in order to describe who is doing the action and when.
Most verbs are "regular," meaning they change their endings in predictable ways.
Person
Endings
Examples
-o
yo como, yo leo
you (familiar)
-es, -as
t comes, t nadas
he, she, it, you (formal)
-e, -a
l come, ella nada, usted lee
we
-amos, -emos,
-imos
nosotros comemos, nosotros
nadamos
you (plural Latin
America)
-en, -an
ustedes comen, ustedes nadan
you (plural Spain)
-is, -is
vosotros comis, vosotros nadis
they
-en, -an
ellos comen, ellos nadan
Tips and notes
Colors Have Gender and Number
In Spanish, colors (and other adjectives) have to match the noun they refer to in terms of
gender and number. For example for a male cat you say "el gato blanco," for a female cat
you say "la gata blanca," and in the plural you say "los gatos blancos" or "las gatas
blancas." Below is a table for the most common colors:
Color
Masculine
Singular
Masculine
Plural
Feminine
Singular
Feminine
Plural
white
blanco
blancos
blanca
blancas
black
negro
negros
negra
negras
red
rojo
rojos
roja
rojas
blue
azul
azules
azul
azules
green
verde
verdes
verde
verdes
yellow
amarillo
amarillos
amarilla
amarillas
Tips and notes
S Versus Si
Although "s" and "si" sound the same, "s" (with an accent mark) means "yes" and "si"
means "if."
Y, E, O, U
The word for "and" in Spanish is "y," and the word for "or" is "o." However, if the word after
"and" starts with an "i" or "hi" (which sounds the same as "i" because the "h" in Spanish is
always silent), then you need to use "e" instead of "y." For example "sons and daughters" is
"hijos e hijas." Similarly, if the word after "or" starts with "o" or "ho," then you have to use "u"
instead of "o." For example, "dog or bear" is "perro u oso."
