Qualitative (descriptive) adjectives - Hillcrest Elementary

Preface
Language, like all forms of art and beauty, is about making connections and
enhancing life. Any human action, from writing a novel to taking a walk, can be
raised to the level of art. It can also be reduced to mechanics: functional, but
lifeless.
As you study Spanish, you can choose to approach it as an art form or as a
practical tool for communicating with others, or anything in between. h e language
itself and its various opportunities do not change—they are there for the
taking. What you come away with is based on your choice of orientation.
Both approaches—artistic and utilitarian—require diligence and hard work,
with attention paid to both grammar and vocabulary. A lopsided approach, however,
can greatly diminish your enjoyment and success.
Language is like a house
h ink of learning a language the way a i ne house is built. First comes the foundation.
h e structure must be solid, well thought out, of quality material and crat smanship.
Measurements must be exact, lines straight, surfaces level. Laying a
foundation is serious business, and structure, rules, and formulae tried and true—
not originality—reign. In language, this foundation is called grammar, a feature as
necessary as architectural footings, even though it has been unconscionably discounted
in recent years.
Imagine what a building would look like if its foundation were not solid. h is
is exactly what happens to language when the grammatical structure is shaky: It
crumbles. Where the careless builder now has a pile of rubble, the inattentive student
of language is surrounded by a mountain of words, each potentially useful,
some even complex and beautiful, but rendered useless in the absence of
structure.
h us it is that this book—a text designed to build your vocabulary—begins
not with a l urry of words, but with a solid introduction to Spanish grammar. h e
words will come because we need them—grammar is pointless without vocabulary—but
words remain rootless and adrit without the glue of grammatical
structure.
Purpose and organization of this book
Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Vocabulary of ers you the maximum amount of
vocabulary with the minimum amount of grammar needed to give the words life.
h e nitty-gritty technical and grammatical aspects of the language—which are
endless and will be debated long at er we’re all gone—are not included. Instead,
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