UNIDAD 2: LA DESCRIPCIÓN DE NUESTROS ALREDEDORES: DIFERENCIAS Y SEMEJANZAS

Los adjetivos: agreement  1.) All adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun or pronoun they modify  Ejemplos: SingularPlural el hombre cubanolos hombres cubanos la revista cubanalas revistas cubanas  some adjectives only have two forms, one for the singular and one for the plural el chico amablelos chicos amables la chica amablelas chicas amables

 2.) Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant have four forms: el chico españollos chicos españoles la chica españolalas chicas españolas  Adjectives of nationality that end in –n or –s have an accent mark in the masculine singular form el coche japonéslos coches japoneses la computadora japonesa las computadoras japonesas el periódico alemán los periódicos alemanes la revista alemanalas revistas alemanas

 3.) Adjectives that modify both a masculine and feminine noun use the masculine plural form  Ejemplos: el profesor y la profesora chilenos el himno nacional y la bandera mexicanos

Los adjetivos: Location  1.) Descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun los idiomas extranjeros  2.) Adjectives that indicate a number or amount of the noun generally precede the noun Había doscientos invitados y mucho ruído. ~ejemplos: otro, mucho, varios, poco…

 Some adjectives change in meaning according to their placement: Viejoun amigo viejo/un viejo amigo Pobreuna mujer pobre/una pobre mujer Grande una ciudad grande/una gran ciudad Nuevoun coche nuevo/un nuevo coche

 5.) When just two adjectives follow a noun “y” is optional, but when three or more follow, “y” must be between the last two adjectives una fortaleza alemana vieja unos animales fuertes, rápidos, y feroces

 6.) A few adjectives have shortened forms when they appear before masculine singular nouns Bueno Hizo buen tiempo Maloun mal ejemplo Primeroel primer acto Terceroel tercer verso Algunoalgún día Ningunoningún episodio

 7.) “Cien” represents the exact quantity 100, whereas “ciento” occurs in the numbers (and in the expression “por ciento”)

LOS ADJECTIVOS DEMOSTRATIVOS

Demonstrative Adjectives  There are 3 demonstrative adjectives in Spanish  Este (this)  Refers to someone or something near the speaker, or to the present time  Ese (that)  Refers to someone or something near the person addressed, or to a relatively near time period  Aquel (that-over there)  Refers to someone or something at a distance from the speaker and person being addressed, or to a remote period of time

Gender and Number Agreement  Demonstrative adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun they modify or describe Este niño (this child)Esta semana (this week) Estos niños (these children)Estas semanas (these weeks) Ej: Estos televisores aquí son muy modernos. These television sets here are very modern. Ese niño (that child)Esa semana (that week) Esos niños (those children)Esas semanas (those weeks) Ej: Esos radios allí son portátiles. Those radios are portable. Aquel niño (that child)Aquella semana (that week) Aquellos niños (those children)Aquellas semanas (those weeks) Ej: Esta semana tengo varios exámenes. This week I have several tests. NOTE: Masculine singular forms do not end in -o

LOS PRONOMBRES DEMOSTRATIVOS

Demonstrative Pronouns  Function like demonstrative adjectives but they replace the noun, expressing the former and the latter Ej: Aquí están la Sra. Blanco y el Sr Menendez; éste es banquero y aquélla es abogada. (Here are Mrs.Blanco and Mr. Menendez; the latter is a banker and the former is a lawyer.)  Can express a statement or general idea via neuter form Ej: Eso no es verdad. (That is not true)  No accents in the neuter form!  Demonstrative pronouns are the same in form as demonstrative adjectives but they a carry a written accent. They have the same gender and number as the noun they are replacing.

Referring to Space Éste, ésta, éstos, éstas Relate to something close to the speaker (this one/these) Ése, ésa, ésos, ésas Relate to something far from the speaker (that one/those) but close to the person being addressed Aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas Relate to something far from the speaker (that one/those) and the person being addressed Ej: ¿Te gusta más este modelo o ése? Los alpinistas piensan subir esa montaña y aquélla. Do you like this model or that one more? The mountain climbers are planning to go up that mountain and the one over there.

Referring to Time Éste, ésta, éstos, éstas Relate to the present (this/these) Ése, ésa, ésos, ésas Relate to a period that is relatively (that/those) near Aquél, aquélla, aquéllos, aquéllas Relate to a remote time (that/those) Ej: Esa semana compré un billete de lotería, ésta compro dos. That week I bought one lottery ticket, this one I am buying two.

Esto, eso, & aquello can also refer to ideas, concepts, or situations Ejs: Los espectadores se portaron de manera muy negativa e infantil. Eso fue lo que nos molestó más que nada. (The spectators behaved in a very negative and childish fashion. That was what bothered us more than anything.)  The neuter forms can also be used to ask for the identification of an object unknown to the person  Qu é es aquello?What is that (at a distance)?  Es una bolsa de cueroIt is a leather bag.  NOTE: Neuter pronouns do not have accents, and always end in –o.

LOS ADJECTIVOS POSESIVOS Possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed.

Possessive Adjectives (short form) nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras (our) mi, mis (my) tu, tus (your) su, sus (your, his, her, its) su, sus (their)

Note that… 1. Short possessive adjectives are always placed before the noun they modify (i.e. su coche) 2. Mi, tu, and su have the same form for the masculine and feminine forms while nuestro has separate forms 3. To form the plual add –s 4. Mi (my), tu (your), & nuestro (our) have only one equivalent in English 5. Su can either mean his, her, your, its, or their

Possessive Adjectives (long form) Mío, mía, míos, mías (mine) Tuyo, tuya, tuyos, tuyas (yours) Suyo, suya, suyos, suyas (yours, his, hers, its) Nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras (ours) Suyo, suya, suyos, suyas (yours, their)

Note that… 1. Long possessive adjectives are always placed after the noun they modify (i.e. el tío suyo) 2. They all have separate masculine and feminine forms 3. To form the plural add –s 4. Mío (of mine), tuyo (of yours), & nuestro (of ours) have only one equivalent in English 5. Suyo, suya, suyos, & suyas can each mean of his, of hers, of yours, of its, & of theirs

LOS PRONOMBRES POSESIVOS

Possessive Pronouns  Formed by using the definite article and the long form of the possessive adjective:  el mío, la mía, los míos, las mías (mine)  el tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas (yours)  el suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas (yours, his, hers, its, theirs)  el nuestro, la nuestra, los nuestros, las nuestras (ours) Ejemplo: Esta cocina es más grande que la suya. This kitchen is larger than his (hers, yours theirs).

COMPARACIONES

Comparisons Of Regular Adjectives  Comparisons of equality are expressed with: tan + adjective (adverb) + como Ej: Ella es tan lista como su hermana. She is as clever as her sister. tanto (-a, -os, -as) + noun + como Ejemplo: Ella tiene tantas cualidades como su hermana. She has as many qualities as her sister.

Comparisons Of Regular Adjectives (cont.)  Comparisons of inequality are expressed with  Más (menos) + adjective (noun, adverb) + que Refers to someone or something near the speaker, or to the present time  Ej: Ellos son más fuertes que tú. They are stronger than you.

Comparisons Of Regular Adjectives (cont.)  To express than before numerals in affirmative sentences, de is used Ej: Han trabajado más de ocho horas. They have worked more than eight hours.  If the sentence is negative, que is used Ej: No han trabajado más que diez horas. They have not worked more than ten hours.  When English uses an indefinite word (anyone, anything) after que Spanish uses a negative word (nadie, nada) Ej: Tiene más fuerze que nadie He has more strength than anyone.  When the antecedent is an adjective or adverb, than is expressed by de lo que Ej: Esa tarea fue más fácil de lo que habíamos pensado. That homework was easier than we had thought. Ej: Valía mucho más de lo que queríamos gastar. It was worth more than we wanted to spend.

Comparisons Of Irregular Adjectives  The adjectives bueno, malo, viejo, and joven have irregular forms when used in comparisons of inequality:  bueno – mejor que (better than)  malo – peor que (worse than)  viejo – mayor que (older than)  joven – menor que (younger than) Ej: Mi primo es menor que yo. My cousin is younger than I.

Comparisons Of Irregular Adjectives  These adjectives are also irregular when used in the superlative degree:  bueno – el/la mejor de (the best of) los/las mejores de  malo – el/la peor de (the worst of) los/las peores de  viejo – el/la mayor de (the oldest of) los/las mayores de  joven – el/la menor de (the youngest of) los/las menores de Ej: Rosa es la mayor de las hermanas. Rosa is the oldest of the sisters.

Comparisons Of Irregular Adjectives  The adjectives mayor and menor are used to compare only in terms of age. For differences in size use más grande and más pequeño: Ej: Y esa mesa allí es la más grande de todas. And that table there is the biggest of all. Ej: La mesa es más pequeña que el escritorio. The table is smaller than the desk.

Superlative Comparisons  Superlatives are expressed with: el (la, los, las) + más(menos) + adjective + de Ej: Ellas son las más trabajadoras de la clase. They are the most hard-working in the class. Ej: Él es el menos listo de la clase. He is the least intelligent of the class.  Absolute superlative stresses adjective to its maximum degree. It does not compare the person, thing, or group to others.  English equivalents= extremely, very, awfully, and incredibly  Formed by adding suffix –ísimo, -ísima, -ísimos, or ísimas  NOTE: In some adjectives there are spelling changes  C  qu, g  gu, and z  c  Equivalent expressions are written using muy, sumamente, and extraordinariamente Ej: Ella está nerviosísima/ Ella está muy nerviosa. She is very/ extremely nervous. Adjectives in comparative and superlative degree still must agree with the noun or pronouns they modify