Arriving tired: an adjective after the verb
After verbs like llegar, volver, salir, irse or mirar, an adjective or participle can say how the subject was at that moment. It agrees with the subject, as it would after estar: Ana llegó cansada = Ana arrived, and she was tired.
Feminine, because of Ana:
| Ana got home tired. | Ana llegó cansada a casa. |
Masculine plural, because of los niños:
| The children came back dirty from the park. | Los niños volvieron sucios del parque. |
Describing the object
With verbs like encontrar, dejar or ver, the adjective can describe the object instead, and then it agrees with the object.
| sentence | the adjective describes |
|---|---|
| Ana llegó cansada. | the subject, Ana |
| Encontré la tienda cerrada. | the object, la tienda |
| Encontramos a los niños dormidos. | the object, los niños |
The shop was closed when I got there:
| I found the shop closed. | Encontré la tienda cerrada. |
Same pattern with a person as the object:
| We found the children asleep. | Encontramos a los niños dormidos. |
A participle after the noun
A past participle placed straight after a noun works like a short passive relative clause: el presidente elegido = el presidente que ha sido elegido. It agrees with the noun, and por can say who did it.
Plural, like los billetes:
| Tickets bought online cannot be changed. | Los billetes comprados por internet no se pueden cambiar. |
With por for the person who did it:
| We live in a house built by my grandfather. | Vivimos en una casa construida por mi abuelo. |
Common mistake
- Ana llegó cansado → the adjective agrees with Ana: Ana llegó cansada.
