Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Lesson Plan
Video: 15 minutes
Lesson: 35 minutes
Pre-viewing
• :00 Warm-up: Have students list as many Spanish nouns as they can. Review the articles and genders for singular and
plural nouns.
3 minutes
• :03 Pre-test: Write on the board the following:
el doctor es inteligente
el doctor inteligente
Ask the students if they think the phrases have the same meaning. Ask how they would say the phrases in English
and how the Spanish grammatical structures differ from English. Go over the learning objectives.
3 minutes
Viewing
• :06 Playing Video: Hand out Viewing Guide. Go over viewing questions and expectations. Tell the students to pay
attention to the program and answer the viewing questions while watching. Don’t hesitate to stop the program and
review if the students seem confused.
15 minutes
Post-viewing
• :21 Question & Answer Session: Ask the class for the answers to the viewing questions. See if any parts of the program
were difficult or confusing for the students. Ask a few questions to check their understanding of the key topics.
5 minutes
Sample Questions
1. Does an adjective ending in “e” have to match its noun in gender?
2. How do you say “the strong man” in Spanish?
3. How do you say “she is friendly” in Spanish?
Handouts
• :26 Practicing Material: Hand out the Worksheet and give the class 6-8 minutes to complete it. Students are allowed to
use their Viewing Guide. Monitor the students’ progress, helping where needed. Go over Worksheet as a class.
10 minutes
• :36 Applying Material: Hand out the Activity. Choose one of the activities and break up the class into either small
groups (#1) or pairs (#2) and go over the instructions. Monitor the groups to keep speaking time at a high level and
award participation points to the winners, if so desired.
10 minutes
• :46 Wrap-up: Briefly sum up what has been covered in class, using the students to do the summary. Refer back to the
questions from the Pre-test and show that they now can easily answer the questions. Assign any homework.
4 minutes
Viewing Questions Answer Key
1. What do adjectives have to agree in? gender and number
2. How can you tell the adjective sucia is singular? it doesn’t have an “s” at the end
3. What’s wrong with this phrase? la fea gata it should be: la gata fea
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Teacher’s Reference Guide
Video: 15 minutes
Lesson: 35 minutes
Learning Objectives
At the end of the module, students will be able to:
• define, pronounce and correctly spell all vocabulary words
• apply adjective rules for:
number
gender
position placement
Materials
• Video: vocabulary, adjective ending rules, adjective placement rules;15 minutes long
• Viewing Guide: vocabulary, adjective rules; 3 Viewing Questions
• Worksheet: vocabulary practice, adjective rules practice, error correction
• Activity Sheet: small group chain game, pair Q&A practice
• Check Your Knowledge: vocabulary, adjective rules, student self-description; 50 points
Background
Students should be familiar with articles and gender rules.
Students should know how to conjugate ser and estar.
Preparation
None required.
Extension:
Using bilingual dictionaries, have the students look up and make a list of the adjectives that they feel best describe
themselves. They can either give these descriptions as a class report, or submit the list on a piece of paper placed in a
hat. Students then randomly draw a description and read it to the class. The class tries to guess who the student is
from the description.
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Viewing Guide
VOCABULARY – ADJECTIVES
alto(a) – tall
feliz – happy
fuerte – strong
inteligente – intelligent
limpio(a) – clean
simpático – friendly
bajo(a) – short
triste – sad
débil – weak
feo(a) – ugly
sucio(a) – dirty
desagradable – disagreeable
VOCABULARY – NOUNS
el
el
el
el
conejo – rabbit
gato – cat
hombre – man
libro – book
la
el
el
la
mujer – woman
pájaro – bird
ratón – mouse
tortuga – turtle
ADJECTIVE RULES
Gender and Number
In Spanish, adjectives must match the gender and number
of the noun they modify.
él está sucio
ella está sucia
los hombres están sucios
las mujeres están sucias
The Exceptional E
Adjectives that end in e do not change to match the gender,
only the number.
él está triste
ella está triste
los hombres están tristes
las mujeres están tristes
Consonant Endings
Adjectives that end in a consonant do not change to match
the gender. They only change to match the number.
él es debil
ella es debil
los hombres son débiles
las mujeres son débiles
Viewing Questions
1. What do adjectives have to agree in?
2. How can you tell the adjective sucia is singular?
3. What’s wrong with this phrase? la fea gata
Adjective Placement
In English, adjectives almost always come before the
noun, but in Spanish, adjectives usually come after
the noun.
el gato feo
la gata fea
los gatos feos
las gatas feas
More Than One Adjective
Two or more descriptive adjectives are joined
together with y (and).
la tortuga alta y fuerte
el conejo alto, inteligente y triste
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Worksheet
A. The Perfect Match
Draw a line from the adjective on the left to its antonym on the right.
1.
desagradable
alto
2.
fuerte
sucio
3.
bajo
simpático
4.
limpio
débil
B. Gender and Number
Write out the phrases, making sure the adjectives match the nouns in gender and number.
1. la tortuga
+
inteligente
2. los conejos
+
triste
3. el ratón
+
bajo
4. la gata
+
simpático
5. los hombres
+
fuerte
6. las mujeres
+
alto
7. él es
+
desagradable
C. Error Correction
Each phrase has one mistake! Search and correct.
1. la tortuga alta fuerte
2. las gatas feos
3. el pájaro tristo
4. los ratonos altos
5. las mujeres débil
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Worksheet
Answer Key
A. The Perfect Match
Draw a line from the adjective on the left to its antonym on the right.
1.
desagradable
alto
2.
fuerte
sucio
3.
bajo
simpático
4.
limpio
débil
B. Gender and Number
Write out the phrases, making sure the adjectives match the nouns in gender and number.
1. la tortuga
+
inteligente
la tortuga inteligente
2. los conejos
+
triste
los conejos tristes
3. el ratón
+
bajo
el ratón bajo
4. la gata
+
simpático
la gata simpática
5. los hombres
+
fuerte
los hombres fuertes
6. las mujeres
+
alto
las mujeres altas
7. él es
+
desagradable
él es desagradable
C. Error Correction
Each phrase has one mistake! Search and correct.
1. la tortuga alta fuerte
la tortuga alta y fuerte
2. las gatas feos
las gatas feas
3. el pájaro tristo
el pájaro triste
4. los ratonos altos
los ratones altos
5. las mujeres débil
las mujeres débiles
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Activity
A. Adjective Chain
Working in small groups, try to attach as many adjectives to a noun as possible. The first person says the noun and one
adjective. The second person repeats the noun and adjective and adds another adjective. The third person repeats the previous
and adds a third adjective, and so on. The activity ends when one player can’t remember the order of adjectives, or adds the
wrong ending to the adjective.
Example:
el gato feo
el gato feo y triste
el gato feo, triste y bajo
. . .and so on!
B. Which Do You Want?
Life would be very dull if you never got the chance to have conversations using adjectives. Never fear! We now introduce to you
two very useful phrases: ¿Cuál quieres? which means, “Which do you (informal) want?” and yo quiero which means, “I
want.” Work in pairs. Ask and answer questions using the choices below, then switch roles and repeat.
el pájaro simpatico
el pájaro desagradable
el aeroplano nuevo
el aeroplano viejo
la computadora rápida
la computadora lenta
los calcetines sucios
los calcetines limpios
Example:
Student 1: “¿Cuál quieres? ¿El gato inteligente o el gato estúpido?”
Student 2: “Yo quiero el gato inteligente.”
HANDY WORDS
el aeroplano – airplane
la computadora – computer
el calcetín – sock
nuevo(a) – new
viejo(a) – old
rápido(a) – fast
lento(a) – slow
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Check Your Knowledge
Total Score
A. Adjectives and Opposites
/ 50
Write the Spanish adjective that is the opposite of the word shown. (3 points each)
Example: inteligente
estúpido
1. limpio
2. fuerte
3. alto
4. simpático
5. feliz
B. Attaching Adjectives
Connect the adjectives to the noun they modify. Remember to make the adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun
they modify. (3 points each)
1. (the lost lobster)
perdido + la langosta
2. (the nervous neighbor)
nervioso + el vecino
3. (the tricky turnips)
taimado + los nabos
4. (the angry babysitter)
enojado + la cangura
5. (the tasty tarantula)
sabroso + la tarántula
6. (the fearless frogs)
intrépido + las ranas
7. (the careless caterpillars)
negligente + las orugas
8. (the independent mind)
independiente + la mente
9. (the long, difficult road)
largo + difícil + la carretera
10. (the easy, simple jokes)
fácil + sencillo + los chistes
C. Talk About Yourself
Use any adjectives you know to write a brief description of yourself. (5 points)
Using Descriptive
Adjectives
Check Your Knowledge
Answer Key
A. Adjectives and Opposites
Total Score
/ 50
Write the Spanish adjective that is the opposite of the word shown. (3 points each)
Example: inteligente
estúpido
1. limpio
sucio
2. fuerte
débil
3. alto
bajo
4. simpático
desagradable
5. feliz
triste
B. Attaching Adjectives
Connect the adjectives to the noun they modify. Remember to make the adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun
they modify. (3 points each)
1. (the lost lobster)
perdido + la langosta
la langosta perdida
2. (the nervous neighbor)
nervioso + el vecino
el vecino nervioso
3. (the tricky turnips)
taimado + los nabos
los nabos taimados
4. (the angry babysitter)
enojado + la cangura
la cangura enojada
5. (the tasty tarantula)
sabroso + la tarántula
la tarántula sabrosa
6. (the fearless frogs)
intrépido + las ranas
las ranas intrépidas
7. (the careless caterpillars)
negligente + las orugas
las orugas negligentes
8. (the independent mind)
independiente + la mente
la mente independiente
9. (the long, difficult road)
largo + difícil + la carretera
la carretera larga y difícil
10. (the easy, simple jokes)
fácil + sencillo + los chistes
los chistes fáciles y sencillos
C. Talk About Yourself
Use any adjectives you know to write a brief description of yourself. (5 points)
Sample answer:
Soy independiente, alto, simpático, inteligente y a veces negligente.