Adjectives Part IV:
Exceptions to the Rules

 

Spanish is wonderfully systematic—even the exceptions to the rules have sets of rules!  While many students of Spanish are initially dismayed by this news, some students can attest that these rules actually make Spanish grammar easier to grasp and ultimately master than other languages!  Trust me, and when you’re ready, read on:

 

Adjectives ending in –án, -ón, -or, or –ín 

 

In Adjectives Part I, we studied the formation of adjectives ending in –o, -eand in consonants.  In Adjectives Part II, we studied the formation and usage of adjectives of nationality.  There is a group of adjectives ending in consonants that follows the same pattern as adjectives of nationality.

  These adjectives have four forms and may carry a written accent in the masculine singular.  They end in –án, -ón, -or, or –ín:

burlón	mocking
charlatán	gabby, chatty
chiquitín	tiny
encantador	charming
hablador	talkative
holgazán	lazy
preguntón	inquisitive
trabajador	hard-working

 

Unlike other adjectives ending in consonants, the adjectives listed above have masculine and feminine forms as well as singular and plural forms.  Observe:

 

el muchacho preguntón	la muchacha preguntona
los niños preguntones	las mujeres preguntonas
el hombre trabajador	la mujer trabajadora
los estudiantes trabajadores	las maestras trabajadoras

             

Remember, in general, regular adjectives ending in consonants do NOT have four possible endings; every word on the list above is an EXCEPTION to the rule.

 

This next list is made up of regular adjectives.  Although they end in –or, the following adjectives are NOT included in the first list because they are NOT exceptions to the rule.  The adjectives on this list follow the same rules as regular adjectives ending in consonants—they only have singular and plural forms (add –es for the plural):

 

anterior	previous
exterior	outside, exterior
inferior	lower, bottom, inferior
mejor	better, best
posterior	rear, back, posterior
superior*	upper, top, superior
ulterior	ulterior; hidden, concealed

 

*Okay, there’s an exception here, too. 

In the expression Mother Superior, the translation is la madre superiora.

 

 

Shortened masculine singular

 

You may have run into the expression “apocopated adjectives”—that’s what we’re talking about here.  Certain adjectives have a shortened form in the masculine singular, and some of these forms carry a written accent in this shortened form.

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  This point is often overlooked in Spanish classes, because it seems so minor and inconsequential—barely noticeable, really—to fluent speakers and readers of Spanish.  For those of you who may be confused, or for those of you who truly want to achieve educated near-native proficiency someday, here’s the way apocopated adjectives work—observe:

 

bueno	un buen hombre
malo	un mal muchacho
primero	el primer hijo
tercero	el tercer libro
alguno	algún día
ninguno	ningún talento

 

 

All other forms of these adjectives (feminine and plural forms) are regular:

 

una buena mujer

una mala idea

la primera página

algunas condiciones

 

But wait!  Don’t adjectives have to follow the nouns they modify?!  Usually, yes.  These adjectives are exceptions to that rule as well.  Ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) always come before the noun.

 

The word grande provides an added twist:  its position before or after the noun changes the meaning of the sentence.  When grande comes BEFORE the noun, the form is shortened and it means “famous” or “great/accomplished/important.”  When it comes AFTER the noun, it means “big” or “large.”  Think that’s a minor concern? 

 

Would you rather be remembered as

una gran persona or una persona grande?

 

That’s what I thought.  Notice, too, that the shortened form gran is acceptable in the masculine AND FEMININE singular forms—it’s an exception to the exception!

 

 

Practice

 

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the adjective in parentheses.  For extra credit, translate the passage to English.

 

Mi novio es un _____________________ hombre, muy inteligente y ______________________.  (bueno, trabajador)  Él no es _____________________ , pero tiene dos hermanas muy _____________________ .  (hablador, charlatán) Mi novio y yo somos _____________________ amigos; espero que _____________________ día nos podemos casar.  (mejor, alguno)

Answers

(By sentence)
buen, trabajador
hablador, charlatanas
mejores, algún

(Translation)
My boyfriend is a good man, very intelligent and
hard-working. He isn’t talkative, but he has two very chatty
sisters. My boyfriend and I are best friends; I hope that
some day we can be married.

 

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