Adjective Basics

It’s time to lose some bad habits. You have the tendency to translate directly from Spanish into English. Sometimes, this strategy works, but many times, it doesn’t, especially with adjectives. Here are three basic rules to keep in mind...

First, adjectives go before nouns.

We can’t say...                    but...

the cat black                       the black cat

the sport most popular        the most popular sport  

a boat blue and big             a big, blue boat

Look at the last example. You don’t need to put and between adjectives in front of nouns.  A comma ( , ) is sufficient.

Second, adjectives are never plural. 

blacks cats                         black cats

Third, adjectives cannot be used as nouns. 
In most cases, they should be accompanied by nouns.

He bought the cheap.          He bought the cheap watch.

She is a pretty.                   She is a pretty woman.

Without being accompanied by a noun, we can not assume what the adjective refers to. 


Adjectives can only be alone after state verbs like be. And in these cases, you can not have articles, like a / an / the, before them.

He is the guilty.                  He is guilty.

She is a pretty.                   She is pretty.

I know it’s very difficult to lose old habits, but after following these three sacred rules, you’ll sound more natural!