Opens in a new tab

Spanish Past Participles as Adjectives

A Spanish past participle (cerrado, escrito) can work as an adjective, often after estar. Used this way it agrees with the noun: -o/-a for gender, plus -s for plural.

  • CEFR B1
  • 9-question quiz
  • 2 exercises
Participle as adjective: gender and number
  1. cerrar→cerradoclosed (masc. sing.)
  2. cerrar→cerradaclosed (fem. sing.)
  3. cerrar→cerradosclosed (masc. pl.)
  4. cerrar→cerradasclosed (fem. pl.)
  5. vender→vendidassold (fem. pl.)
  6. romper→rotabroken (fem. sing., irregular)

In Spanish, just as in English, you can form past participles as adjectives, as long as you remember to match the number and gender of the noun that it’s modifying. This means that for plurals you have to add an extra s, and in the feminine form the -ado and -ido endings become -ada and -ida .

Past participles can be used as adjectives by following a few steps. You will look at your infinitive first, then you will drop the endings which are: “ar, er, ir, after dropping these endings, you add “ado or ido.” When you change a past participle into an adjective, it has to agree in number and gender with the noun.

For regular verbs ending in er, ir, you drop the “er, ir,: and add “ido.”

El juguete está roto. “roto” is your adjective that is in singular and masculine since “juguete,” is masculine.

The toy is broken

La ventana está rota. Here “rota,” is feminine and singular because ventana is feminine and there is only one.

The window is broken

Regular verbs end in “ar-er-ir,” and you make it into an adjective by dropping the “ar-er-ir,” and adding “ado” (-ar verbs) or “ido” (-er and -ir verbs).

Es tradición estar sentados a la mesa juntos toda la familia.

It is a tradition for the whole family to sit together at the table.

Regular Past Participles In Spanish

______________________________________________________________________________

Verb EndingsVerbo InfinitivoParticipio pasadoInfinitive VerbPast Participle
-AR = ADO(S) / ADA(S)JugarJugadoTo playPlayed
-IR = IDO(S) / IDA(S)VivirVividoTo liveLived
-ER = IDO(S) / IDA(S)CreerCreídoTo believeBelieved

In some cases with a few verbs that end in “ir, er” such as leer, oír, you will drop the “er, ir,” and add “ído” with an accent.

Leer – leído

Oír – oído

Several Spanish verbs have irregular past participles: Some are: abrir – abierto; decir-dicho, hacer-hecho. There are several perfect tenses. They use the formula Haber + Past Participle. Example: Roberto ha viajado a Londres. Robert has traveled to London.

A regular Past Participle is a verb form that is usually used with Perfect Tenses. In English, the Past Participle is formed by either adding “-ed” or “-en” to the infinitive form, for example, the Past Participle of the verb “to walk” is “walked”.

Key vocabulary

WordMeaningExample
cerrado / cerradaclosedLa oficina está cerrada los domingos.
abierto / abiertaopen (irregular: abrir)La puerta de la sala está abierta.
roto / rotabroken (irregular: romper)La impresora está rota otra vez.
hecho / hechadone, made (irregular: hacer)El trabajo ya está hecho.
escrito / escritawritten (irregular: escribir)El contrato está escrito en inglés y en español.
terminado / terminadafinishedLos informes están terminados.
ocupado / ocupadabusyMi jefa está muy ocupada esta semana.
cansado / cansadatiredEstamos cansados después del viaje.
preocupado / preocupadaworriedLos clientes están preocupados por el retraso.

Practice: Spanish Past Participles as Adjectives

Work through the exercises, then test yourself with the quiz. Learn from your mistakes and try again as often as you like.

Exercises

Write the past participle

Complete each sentence with the past participle of a verb from this list: bailar, viajar, leer, conocer, cocinar, traer, hablar, escribir, hacer.

  1. Mario ha ______ la música latinoamericana.

    Mario has danced to Latin American music. (bailar)

    Show answer

    bailado

  2. ¿Has ______ mucho a Brasil?

    Have you traveled to Brazil a lot? (viajar)

    Show answer

    viajado

  3. Habré ______ ese libro unas diez veces.

    I must have read that book about ten times. (leer)

    Show answer

    leído

  4. Esta semana he ______ una parte del edificio.

    This week I have gotten to know part of the building. (conocer)

    Show answer

    conocido

  5. Margaret ha ______ unos postres deliciosos.

    Margaret has cooked some delicious desserts. (cocinar)

    Show answer

    cocinado

  6. Juan ha ______ la fuente de patatas.

    Juan has brought the dish of potatoes. (traer)

    Show answer

    traído

  7. El tema está ______ con el presidente.

    The matter has been discussed with the president. (hablar)

    Show answer

    hablado

  8. El poema está ______ con mucho amor.

    The poem is written with a lot of love. (escribir)

    Show answer

    escrito

  9. Ha ______ un pastel para la cena.

    He has made a cake for dinner. (hacer)

    Show answer

    hecho

Make the participle agree

Write the participle of the verb in parentheses as an adjective. Match the noun's gender and number.

  1. Las ventanas están ______ (abrir).

    The windows are open.

    Show answer

    abiertas

  2. El problema ya está ______ (resolver).

    The problem is already solved.

    Show answer

    resuelto

  3. Las facturas están ______ (pagar).

    The invoices are paid.

    Show answer

    pagadas

  4. Mis compañeros están ______ (sentar) en la sala.

    My coworkers are seated in the room.

    Show answer

    sentados

  5. La reunión está ______ (cancelar).

    The meeting is canceled.

    Show answer

    cancelada

  6. Los platos están ______ (romper).

    The plates are broken.

    Show answer

    rotos

  7. La cena está ______ (servir).

    Dinner is served.

    Show answer

    servida

  8. Tengo los documentos ______ (imprimir).

    I have the documents printed.

    Show answer

    impresos

Quiz: 9 questions

1. Cerrar: Las puertas ______ con llave no se abren.
2. Enojar: José está ______ porque sacó mala nota.
3. Abrir: ¿Podrías cerrar la ventana ______?
4. Revolver: Me encantan los huevos ______.
5. Agotar: Los niños están ______.
6. Herir: Hay tres personas ______ en el accidente.
7. Conectar: Juan siempre está ______ a internet.
8. Decir: Las palabras ______ con amor llegan al corazón.
9. Descubrir: Los fósiles ______ son del siglo IV d. C.

Not sure which level you are?

Take a free placement test and get your CEFR level, then start with the topics that fit it.

Find your level