Spanish · B1 · Everyday language
Creative Tool Choices in Spanish
This guide helps parents teach children how to describe artistic tools and their specific qualities, such as width, sharpness, and texture, using the preposition 'con' (with) and descriptive adjectives.
What you'll learn
- Identify common art supplies in Spanish
- Apply adjectives correctly after nouns for description
- Practice gender and number agreement with definite and indefinite articles
Spanish phrases for creative tool choices
Puedes dibujar el contorno con el lápiz blando.
You can draw the outline with the soft pencil.
'Blando' refers to soft-lead pencils like 2B.
Intenta sombrear el árbol con un lápiz blando.
Try shading the tree with a soft pencil.
'Sombrear' is the verb for creating shadows.
Puedes pintar el fondo con el pincel ancho.
You can paint the background with the wide brush.
'Ancho' describes the width of the bristles.
Puedes añadir detalles pequeños con un pincel fino.
You can add small details with a thin brush.
Use 'fino' for fine-tipped artistic tools.
Corta el cartón con las tijeras afiladas.
Cut the cardboard with the sharp scissors.
'Tijeras' is grammatically plural in Spanish.
Puedes dibujar líneas rectas con una regla larga.
You can draw straight lines with a long ruler.
'Larga' must agree with the feminine 'regla'.
Puedes rotular el mapa con los lápices de colores nuevos.
You can label the map with the new coloured pencils.
'Nuevos' refers back to the pencils.
Con las fotos coloridas, tu póster se ve más interesante.
With the colourful pictures, your poster looks more interesting.
'Coloridas' agrees with 'las fotos'.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
Pincel
Artist brush
Specifically for art, unlike 'brocha' used for walls.
Afilado
Sharp
Refers to a cutting edge.
Blando
Soft
Opposite of 'duro' (hard).
Rotular
To label/letter
Used for making maps or signs.
Adjective Agreement after 'con'
In Spanish, adjectives typically follow the noun they describe. When using tools (with the/a...), the adjective must match the gender and number of the tool. Unlike English, the article (el/un/la/una) also dictates the level of specificity.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masc. Singular | con el/un [noun] -o | con el pincel ancho |
| Fem. Singular | con la/una [noun] -a | con una regla larga |
| Plural | con los/las [noun] -s | con las tijeras afiladas |
More examples
¿Tienes el pincel más fino?
Do you have the thinnest brush?
Using 'más' for the superlative.
Dibujamos con los lápices nuevos.
We draw with the new pencils.
Article and adjective both match the plural noun.