Spanish Grammar Lecture: Adjectives & Possessives

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the main grammatical terms and rules discussed in the lecture transcript about Spanish adjectives, possessive forms, and sentence structure.

Possessive Adjectives

Words that show ownership (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro, su) and must appear before a noun to modify it.

Gender and Number Agreement

Rule that adjectives and possessive adjectives must match the noun’s masculine/feminine gender and singular/plural number.

Nuestro / Nuestra / Nuestros / Nuestras

The possessive adjective meaning “our”; only one that changes for BOTH gender and number, giving four distinct forms.

Tu vs. Su

Tu = informal singular "your"; Su = his, her, its, your formal, or their. Both have singular/plural forms (tu/tus, su/sus).

Adjective Placement

Descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun, but some (viejo, nuevo, listo) can precede it and change meaning.

Ser vs. Estar (with Adjectives)

Ser describes inherent traits (Soy listo = I’m smart); Estar shows conditions (Estoy listo = I’m ready).

Question Words (Interrogatives)

Qué, Quién, Dónde, Cuándo, Por qué, Cómo, Cuánto—all carry accents and start a Spanish question.

Demonstrative Adjectives

Este, ese, aquel and their variants; they agree in gender & number to point out specific nouns (this/that/these/those).

Conjugation Agreement

Verb endings must align with the subject pronoun in person and number, often making the subject pronoun optional.

Accent Importance

Written accents change meaning and pronunciation; omitting one (e.g., tú vs tu) is considered incorrect.

Numbers Beyond 100

Spanish forms numbers above 100 with ciento + tens/units (ciento veintitrés), and extends logically to miles and millones.

Subject Pronouns vs. Possessive Adjectives

Subject pronouns (yo, tú, él…) stand alone as sentence subjects; possessive adjectives (mi, tu…) cannot be subjects and must modify a noun.

Mi / Mis, Tu / Tus, Su / Sus

Possessive adjectives that vary only in number (singular vs plural) but NEVER in gender.

Listo(a)

Adjective meaning "smart" with ser (Es listo) and "ready" with estar (Está listo).

Viejo(a) / Nuevo(a) Position

Placed before a noun, viejo means "long-time" and nuevo means "another"; after a noun, they mean "old" and "brand-new."

Tener que + Infinitive

Verb phrase expressing obligation: "tenemos que estudiar" = we have to study.