The past participle as an adjective: "-ado, -oso, ..."

What are past participles as adjectives?

• In this unit you see words like cansado, agotado, lesionado, sudada.
• These are past participles used as adjectives.
• They describe a state or how someone feels now:
  • Estoy cansado. = I am tired.
  • Ella está agotada. = She is exhausted.
• At A1 you mainly use them with estar and sentirse to talk about your physical or emotional state.

Key pattern: estar / sentirse + past participle

• Use these two very often:
  • estar + participle: Estoy cansado.
  • sentirse + participle: Me siento cansado.
• In meaning, they are very similar here: both describe how you feel.
• After estar or sentirse the participle behaves like a normal adjective: it changes for gender and number.

Step 1 – Recognise masculine / feminine, singular / plural

These participles work like regular adjectives in -o / -a / -os / -as.

• This pattern is the same for the other words in your table:
  • agotado → agotado / agotada / agotados / agotadas
  • lesionado → lesionado / lesionada / lesionados / lesionadas
  • sudado → sudado / sudada / sudados / sudadas

Step 2 – Agreement: 3 quick questions

Every time you choose the form, ask yourself:

1. Who is it about?
   • 1 person → singular (o or a).
   • More people → plural (os or as).
2. Masculine, feminine or mixed?
   • Only women → usually a / as.
   • Only men → usually o / os.
   • Mixed group → os.
3. Match the subject exactly (not the person speaking):
   • Yo (man) → Estoy cansado.
   • Yo (woman) → Estoy cansada.
   • Mis compañeros (mixed) → Están cansados.
   • Mis compañeras (all women) → Están cansadas.

Common mini-patterns you will use a lot

• After sports / physical effort
  • Después del gimnasio, estoy sudado / a.
  • Después del partido, estamos agotados / as.
• After a long work day
  • Después del trabajo, estoy cansado / a.
  • Después del proyecto, nos sentimos relajados / as.
• When injured
  • Estoy lesionado / a.
  • Los jugadores están lesionados.

Typical mistakes to avoid

• 1. No agreement with gender / number
  • *Ella está cansado. ✗
  • Ella está cansada. ✓ (subject = she → feminine singular)
  • *Nosotras estamos agotados. ✗
  • Nosotras estamos agotadas. ✓ (all women → feminine plural)
• 2. Using the verb form instead of the adjective
  • *Estoy cansar. ✗
  • Estoy cansado / a. ✓
  • *Nos sentimos lesionar. ✗
  • Nos sentimos lesionados / as. ✓
• 3. Forgetting that mixed groups use -os
  • Mis amigos y yo (men + women) → Estamos relajados. ✓
  • Use -as only if the group is 100% women.

How is this different from English?

• In English, the adjective does not change:
  • I am tired.
  • She is tired.
  • We are tired.
• In Spanish, you must show gender and number:
  • Estoy cansado. (man)
  • Estoy cansada. (woman)
  • Estamos cansados. (mixed / men)
  • Estamos cansadas. (women)
• Keep English out of your decision. Look only at:
  • Who is the subject?
  • Masculine / feminine?
  • Singular / plural?

Mini self-check: can you do this?

1. Choose the correct ending
   • You are a woman: Hoy estoy muy (cansad__) → a → cansada.
   • Two male colleagues: Ellos están (agotad__) → os → agotados.
   • A group of female players: Las jugadoras están (lesionad__) → as → lesionadas.
2. Build 3 sentences about yourself (no need to be true):
   • Estoy… + participle (for example: cansado / a).
   • Me siento… + participle (for example: relajado / a).
   • Después de… + activity + estamos… + participle (for example: agotados / as).

If you can choose the correct -o / -a / -os / -as and use them after estar and sentirse, you are ready to use this in conversation.