Spanish adjectives that end in -e or -a form their plural by adding an -s.
This applies to both the masculine and feminine plural form because these adjectives are invariable: they remain the same in their masculine and feminine forms. Have a look and listen to these examples:
Carolina lleva unos zapatos elegantes.
Carolina is wearing elegant shoes.
Carolina lleva unas gafas elegantes.
Carolina is wearing elegant glasses.
Los alumnos del instituto son terribles.
The students in the high school are terrible.
Las instalaciones del instituto son terribles.
The facilities at the high school are terrible.
Ellos son dos actores canadienses.
They are two Canadian actors.
Ellas son dos actrices canadienses.
They are two Canadian actresses.
Hay compañeros hipócritas en mi trabajo.
There are hypocritical male colleagues at work.
Hay compañeras hipócritas en mi trabajo.
There are hypocritical female colleagues at work.
Debo comprar unos gorros verdes.
I must buy some green hats.
Debo comprar unas camisetas verdes.
I must buy some green t-shirts.
See also:
- Forming the singular feminine of adjectives ending -e and -a
- Invariable adjectives ending in -e and -a
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Hay compañeras hipócritas en mi trabajo.
There are hypocritical female colleagues at work.
Ellos son dos actores canadienses.
They are two Canadian actors.
Los alumnos del instituto son terribles.
The students in the high school are terrible.
Carolina lleva unas gafas elegantes.
Carolina is wearing elegant glasses.
Debo comprar unos gorros verdes.
I must buy some green hats.
Carolina lleva unos zapatos elegantes.
Carolina is wearing elegant shoes.
Las instalaciones del instituto son terribles.
The facilities at the high school are terrible.
Debo comprar unas camisetas verdes.
I must buy some green t-shirts.
Hay compañeros hipócritas en mi trabajo.
There are hypocritical male colleagues at work.
Ellas son dos actrices canadienses.
They are two Canadian actresses.
William
Kwiziq community member
18 August 2018
1 reply
Usually adjectives ending in "a" can also end in "o" to differentiate gender. But here "hipócrita" is invariable. What other "a" words are like that
Silvia
Kwiziq language super star
18 August 2018
18/08/18
¡Hola William! You can find here more examples of invariable adjectives ending by -e and -a:
https://progress.lawlessspanish.com/studylists/view/709332
Silvia.