Learn to Use Advanced Adjectives in Spanish

Did you know that lexical richness is one of the main characteristics that indicate a high level in a language? 

Get inspired to expand your repertoire of words. Mastering a high level of a language offers numerous benefits that impact both professional and personal life. In the workplace, it increases competitiveness and facilitates promotions and leadership opportunities. 

On a personal level, it boosts self-confidence and fosters intellectual growth. Moreover, it allows you to enjoy and deeply understand various topics and conversations, as well as connect with people from other regions.

It's worth advancing to the next level!

So, what should you learn to increase your proficiency in a language?

Many words! You need to expand your vocabulary, which will allow you to express yourself with precision and clarity, leading to more effective communication. 

Additionally, if you increase your repertoire of words, you also need to learn how to use them correctly. What? How? And why? These are the questions that will guide you on this journey. What words should I use? How are they ordered in a sentence? Why are these words used?

Today, we focus on a type of word that will greatly enhance your communication. With these, you can express nuances, details, characteristics, traits... We're talking about adjectives in Spanish. You’ve probably heard about them, but here we’ll take them to another level. We’ll teach you how to use advanced adjectives in Spanish.

What is an advanced adjective? 

An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun. It provides characteristics, qualities, properties, or specific states that qualify the noun. It can be specific or epithet. Specific adjectives delimit the meaning of the noun, distinguishing it from other possible referents, for example: “el carro es azul” (it distinguishes it from other cars by its color). In contrast, epithet adjectives highlight an inherent quality of the noun, without making any distinction, for example: “la nieve blanca”.

Types of adjectives There is an extensive classification of adjectives in Spanish. According to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), they can be categorized as follows:

• Lexical: qualitative, relational.
• Functional (determinative): quantifying, non-quantifying.
• Mixed (adverbial): frequency, modal, temporal localization.

There's a lot to cover on this topic, but today we’ll talk about two main types of adjectives that will help you understand the functions of this part of speech:

Determinative Adjectives

These provide quantitative information, ownership, or the distance between the subject and the object. Some examples are: this, that, those, our, first, their, triple, third, some, none, several, certain, others, many, few, too much, each, a…

Qualitative Adjectives

These are adjectives that express a quality of the noun.

In this article, we will focus on qualitative adjectives and teach you some advanced adjectives in Spanish to enhance your conversations.

When we use advanced adjectives in Spanish, we can simplify phrases and express them in a single word. This allows us to say something like: “that book is very good” as “that book is excellent”. See how the sentence improves?

Let's make a comparative list, using the adverb "muy" (very, too) to show you how with advanced adjectives in Spanish, your communication will be more fluent, elegant, practical, and natural.

20 Advanced Adjectives in Spanish

Where Does the Adjective Go in a Sentence?

In the Spanish language, the adjective is usually placed before the noun it modifies. Therefore, the most common structure in Spanish is “adjective + noun.” For example: 

• “Un brillante diamante adornaba su cuello.”
• “El majestuoso castillo se alzaba sobre la colina.”
• “Una intrigante novela capturó su atención desde el primer capítulo.”

However, it is also possible to place the adjective after the noun, especially when special emphasis is desired. This structure is mainly found in poetry, literature, or more formal stylistic contexts. For example: 

• “El castillo, majestuoso, se alzaba sobre la colina.”
• “La novela, intrigante, capturó su atención desde el primer capítulo.”
• “El cuello lucía un diamante, brillante y deslumbrante.”

Although less common, this structure is still grammatically correct and can add a certain stylistic emphasis to the adjective. In summary, in Spanish, the adjective can be placed both before and after the noun, but the most common form is before the noun.

Move to the Next Level

We’ve seen how advanced adjectives in Spanish can transform our communication. Using precise adjectives allows us to convey ideas with greater detail. This not only improves our expression but also demonstrates a higher mastery of the language. By learning more vocabulary, especially adjectives in Spanish, we elevate our level of linguistic competence. The broader our lexicon, the better we can express ourselves in different contexts.

Significantly improve your communication by using them!