Introduction
This
post is about the use of describing words/ adjectives in general, and
more specifically about the use of the
masculine/
singular form
of demonstrative adjectives -demostrativos.
SCENARIO
Imagine
you talking to a friend or a work colleague. You are talking about
family/ relatives. Looking at a picture, the other person who doesn't
know your parents says: "is
that gentleman your father?".
In Spanish, the
other person could choose to be less formal and say:
¿Ese
señor es tu padre?
Alternatively, he/
she could choose to be a little bit more formal and say:
¿Ese
señor es su padre?
OUR
TIP
The
answer to this question is quite straightforward. You should pay
particular attention to noun-adjective agreement -see grammar notes
below*.
Here
are some sample replies:
Sí,
ese*
señor
es mi padre
(yes, that gentleman is my father);
No,
ese*
señor
no es mi padre
(no, that gentleman is not my father);
No,
ese*
señor
es mi tío
(no, that gentleman is my uncle);
Now
you should practise answering the question:
¿Ese
señor es tu padre?
*NB
See Grammar below
*Grammar-Adjectives
|
Gender
|
Number
|
Adjective
|
señor
|
masculine
|
singular
|
ese
|
señores
|
masculine/
mixed
|
plural
|
esos
|
señora
|
feminine
|
singular
|
esa
|
señoras
|
feminine
|
plural
|
esas
|
Noun-Adjective Agreement
See
notes below on Noun-Adjective agreement
Noun-Adjective
Agreement
In
Spanish describing words/ adjectives have to agree in gender and
number with the noun(s) they describe.
Adjectives
-Gender
Many
Spanish describing words/ adjectives have two forms:
A masculine gender form
(for example, alto)
A similar, but different
feminine gender (for example, alta).
A
few Spanish describing words/ adjectives have one single form for
both masculine and feminine (for example, inteligente).
Every
time you use a describing word which has two separate forms (for
example, alto/ alta), you need to choose the form which
matches the gender (masculine/ feminine) of what you
are describing.
Adjectives
-Number
In
contrast with English, Spanish describing words/ adjectives have also
plural* forms. Every time you use a describing word with a
plural noun (for example, señoras), you must use the plural
form of the corresponding describing word/ adjective (for example,
esas).
You
should use the masculine/ plural form of a describing
word/ adjective when it describes multiple persons/ things of
different grammatical genders.
Adjectives
-Use
All
the practical examples in this post refer to one person, señor
(gentleman). Consequently, they require the masculine/
singular form of a describing word/ adjective, for example,
ese.
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