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Two friendly, very large brown dogs sitting next to each other in a bright green field.

grandes

/GRAHN-dess/

AdjectiveA1
big?referring to physical size,large?referring to physical size, often more formal
Also:great?referring to importance or quality,grown-up?referring to adults or older children,major?referring to significance

📝 In Action

Tengo dos perros grandes.

A1

I have two big dogs.

Las ciudades grandes tienen mucho tráfico.

A2

Large cities have a lot of traffic.

Fueron grandes amigos durante muchos años.

B1

They were great friends for many years.

Mis hijos ya son grandes, van a la universidad.

B1

My children are grown-up now, they go to college.

Tomaron decisiones grandes para el futuro de la empresa.

B2

They made major decisions for the company's future.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • enormes (enormous)
  • amplios (spacious, wide)
  • importantes (important)

Antonyms

  • pequeños (small)

Common Collocations

  • grandes almacenes – department stores
  • a grandes rasgos – in broad strokes, generally speaking
  • grandes éxitos – greatest hits

Idioms & Expressions

  • palabras grandes – big words, boasts, or serious statements

💡 Grammar Points

Matching Plural Nouns

'Grandes' is used for describing more than one thing. It works for both masculine groups (chicos grandes) and feminine groups (chicas grandes).

Singular vs. Plural

If you are only talking about one thing, you use 'grande'. For two or more things, it changes to 'grandes'. For example: 'un coche grande' (one big car) vs. 'dos coches grandes' (two big cars).

❌ Common Pitfalls

Forgetting to Match the Noun

Mistake: "Vi dos casa grande."

Correction: Vi dos casas grandes. Since 'casas' is plural (more than one house), the describing word 'grande' must also become plural by adding an 's': 'grandes'.

⭐ Usage Tips

Before or After the Noun?

Usually, 'grandes' comes after the thing it describes ('amigos grandes' = physically big friends). But if you put it before, it can mean 'great' ('grandes amigos' = great friends). It's a subtle but powerful change!

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: grandes

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'grandes'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

grande(big, large, great) - adjective
agrandar(to enlarge, to make bigger) - verb
grandeza(greatness, grandeur) - noun
grandote(very big (informal)) - adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 'grandes' and 'gran'?

'Grandes' is for describing more than one thing (e.g., 'grandes ideas'). 'Gran' is a shortened version of 'grande' that you can only use before a single noun (e.g., 'una gran idea'). You can't say 'una grandes idea'.

Is 'grandes' for masculine or feminine things?

It's for both! 'Grandes' is the plural form for masculine groups ('los chicos grandes'), feminine groups ('las chicas grandes'), and mixed groups.