spanish color?
When do you use negra and when do you negro?
for example.... blue= azul blue shoes=azules
Is negra used for plural of negro? Then shouldn't it be negras?
5 Answers
Hi Seven8,
follow this link and read the article in the reference section. It will give you a lot of information. Nouns and adjectives are completely matched together in Spanish. It all depends if the word is masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Good luck with learning Spanish and welcome to the forum.
Is negra used for plural of negro?
I believe this article covers some of the peculiarities of colors in Spanish where they are treated as nouns in Spanish where they would be considered adjectives in English.
Note for intermediate students: When using colors derived from nouns, it isn't unusual for speakers to omit the word color (or color de or de color), so that a mustard-colored house would be una casa mostaza. When a noun is used in such a way, it is often still treated as a noun rather than an adjective, so it doesn't change form as adjectives typically do. (Some grammarians consider nouns used in this way to be invariable adjectives, that is, adjectives that don't change for number or gender). Thus "mustard-colored houses" would be casas mostaza rather than casas mostazas (although the latter is also used).
So if you see colors uses with nouns and they seem to be adjectives, don't assume that an error has been made if the color does not match the noun in number. It is actually being used as a noun in an abbreviated phrasing.
Is negra used for plural of negro?
No, negra is the feminine noun and negro is the masculine noun.
To pluralise Negra just add an s - Las negras, the black pices in chess.
You must be careful when using these words as they are considered VERY offensive in some circumstances.
These are simple grammatical issues addressed in most good grammar books.
it just is.
azul is blue. azules is blue for m. and f pl.
negro is masculine black like un coche negro.
negra is feminine black like una falda(skirt) negra.
the plurals of negro/negra are negros/negras and must agree with the noun. that precedes the noun.
Negro can be an adjective or a noun
Negra is always a noun
