Ch. 4a Special Endings: ísimo/a and ito/ita

How to Add Special Endings  Adding an ending to an adjective or noun can have special significance in Spanish. Where you use very, most or extremely with an adjective in English, the ending ísimo often can be added to an adjective in Spanish. Adjectives that end in a vowel, drop that vowel and then the appropriate form of the ísimo ending usually replaces the final word.

Examples Ése es un léon grande – that is a big lion. Ése es un léon grandísimo- that is a really big lion.  La casa es pequeña.- The house is small. La casa es pequeñísima.- The house is extremely small. Esos leones son grandes. Esos leones son grandísimos. Las casas son pequeñas. Las casas son pequenísimas.

Adjectives Adjectives which end in –c, -g and –z undergo a spelling change before adding the ísimo ending. Este hombre es rico. Este hombre es riquísimo. The c changed to a qu. La película es larga. La película es larguísima. The g changed to a gu. Un tigre es feróz. Un tigre es ferocísimo. The z changed to a c.

Adjectives with Accent Marks Adjectives with an accent mark lose the accent when an ísimo ending is added. Examples: Las matemáticas son difíciles. Las matemáticas son dificilísimas.

Attaching Endings Attach the appropriate form of ísimo (ísima, ísimos, ísimas) directly to the end of adjectives that end in a consonant, but first remove any plural ending before adding the suffix.

Examples Es fácil jugar con los muñecos. It is easy to play with the action figures. Es facilísimo jugar con los muñecos. It is very easy to play with the action figures.  La banda toca canciones difíciles. The band plays difficult songs. La banda toca caciones dificilísimas. The band plays extremely difficult songs.

Other Endings You can add another set of endings to a noun or adjective to show affection or to indicate that someone or something is small. The most common of these endings is a form of ito (ita, itos, itas), which replaces the final vowel of a noun. Examples: hermano hermanito abuela abuelita perros perritos casas casitas

Spelling changes Change the c to a qu before adding a form of the suffix ito: Examples: chico chiquito chica chiquita chicos chiquitos chicas chiquitas