Learn Spanish (Latin America): El niño tiene buenos modales.

El niño tiene buenos modales.

The boy has good manners.

Breakdown of El niño tiene buenos modales.

the manners (always plural)

Questions & Answers about El niño tiene buenos modales.

Why does buenos come before modales instead of after?

In Spanish, descriptive adjectives usually go after the noun. However, common adjectives that express an inherent quality or subjective opinion, like bueno (good) and malo (bad), frequently go before the noun.

I thought bueno changes to buen before a masculine noun. Why is it buenos here?

You are right that bueno drops its final letter and becomes buen before a singular masculine noun (like un buen niño). But because modales is plural, the adjective becomes buenos and keeps its normal plural ending.

How would I change this sentence to say 'The boy should have good manners' using deber?

To give advice or express an obligation, you conjugate deber for el niño (he) and follow it with the infinitive tener. The sentence becomes: El niño debe tener buenos modales.

What exactly does modales mean here?

Modales refers specifically to social manners, politeness, or etiquette. Just like the English word 'manners' in this context, it is almost always used in its plural form.