what is it?
Apocopation is the dropping of a final syllable or vowel from a word in a specific context. In Spanish, a small set of adjectives lose their final vowel when they appear immediately before a noun. The affected adjectives are bueno, malo, alguno, ninguno, and grande. Each has slightly different conditions for when the short form is required.
when to use it
bueno, malo, alguno, ninguno — use the short form (buen, mal, algún, ningún) only before a masculine singular noun. Before a feminine noun or after the noun, keep the full form.
grande — use the short form gran before any singular noun, masculine or feminine. After the noun, use grande.
alguno / ninguno as pronouns — when these words stand alone (no noun follows), they are pronouns and keep the full form: alguno, ninguno.
position matters — apocopation only applies when the adjective comes before the noun. When it follows the noun or a verb, the full form is always used: el libro es bueno.
formation
The table below shows the full form, the short (apocopated) form, and the condition that triggers it.
| full form | short form | used before |
|---|---|---|
| bueno | buen | masculine singular noun |
| malo | mal | masculine singular noun |
| alguno | algún | masculine singular noun |
| ninguno | ningún | masculine singular noun |
| grande | gran | any singular noun |
Note that algún and ningún carry a written accent mark in their short forms. The accent is added to preserve the original stress pattern after the vowel is dropped.
examples in context
common pitfalls
Not shortening grande before a feminine noun. Because bueno and malo only shorten before masculine nouns, learners assume the same rule applies to grande. It does not: «una grande ciudad» is wrong; the correct form is una gran ciudad.
Leaving bueno/malo/alguno/ninguno unshortened before a masculine singular noun. The full form before a noun sounds unnatural and is considered incorrect: «un bueno cocinero» must be un buen cocinero.
Shortening ninguno when it is a pronoun. The short form ningún is only valid directly before a noun. When ninguno stands alone as a pronoun, it keeps its full form: «no tengo ningún» is wrong; say no tengo ninguno.
Mixing up this pattern with primero/tercero. The ordinals primero and tercero follow the same apocopation rule (→ primer, tercer before a masculine singular noun), but they are a separate set of words taught with cardinal and ordinal numbers. Do not conflate the two groups.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Mis amigos me dieron un ___ apoyo durante los exámenes. (grande)
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the adjective in parentheses.