Adjective agreement

A1

Grammar path · Lesson 5 of 86 · Stage A1 · Nouns and articles

Whenever you describe people or things in Spanish, the adjective has to match the noun in both gender and number. Adjectives ending in -o have four forms: -o for masculine singular, -a for feminine singular, -os and -as for plural, as in un coche rojo and una casa roja. Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant change only for number: grande becomes grandes, difícil becomes difíciles. Don't mix this up with noun gender: gender is a fixed property of the noun, while agreement is you adjusting the adjective's ending to follow it.

Practise this lesson · 10 sentences

Form

Masculine singularel/un + sustantivo masculino + adjetivo en -o
El coche rojo es de mi padre.The red car is my father's.
Feminine singularla/una + sustantivo femenino + adjetivo en -a
Tengo una camisa nueva.I have a new shirt.
Plurallos/las + sustantivo plural + adjetivo en -os/-as
Las chicas son muy simpáticas.The girls are very nice.
Adjectives ending in -e or a consonantsustantivo + adjetivo en -e/-es o consonante/-es
Son preguntas difíciles.They are difficult questions.

When to use it

Adjective right after the noun

Descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun and take its exact gender and number.

Vivo en una casa grande.I live in a big house.
Compré unos zapatos negros.I bought some black shoes.

After ser and estar

When the adjective comes after ser or estar, it still agrees with the subject. A female subject takes -a, a plural subject adds -s.

Mi hermana está cansada.My sister is tired.
Mis amigas son mexicanas.My friends are Mexican.

Mixed masculine and feminine groups

When one adjective describes several nouns of different genders, use the masculine plural form.

Mi padre y mi madre son altos.My father and my mother are tall.
El libro y la revista son nuevos.The book and the magazine are new.

How an adjective agrees with its noun

masculine singularel chico alto
feminine singularla chica alta
masculine plurallos chicos altos
feminine plurallas chicas altas
adjective ending in -eel chico inteligente · la chica inteligente
adjective ending in a consonantun examen fácil · unas preguntas fáciles

Don't confuse it with

Noun gender: masculine and feminine

To get the adjective right you first need the noun's gender, because the adjective follows grammatical gender, not the noun's ending. So it is el mapa viejo and la mano derecha, even though mapa ends in -a and mano in -o.

Frequently asked questions

Do adjectives ending in -e change for gender?

No. They only change for number: un chico inteligente, una chica inteligente, unos chicos inteligentes.

For a group of men and women, do I use -os or -as?

Use -os. One masculine noun in the group is enough to make the adjective masculine plural, as in Juan y María son altos.

Do nationality adjectives like español have a feminine form?

Yes. Nationality adjectives ending in a consonant still add -a: española, francesa, alemana.

Does the adjective go before or after the noun?

Usually after: una casa blanca. A few common ones like buen and gran can go before, but they still agree in gender and number.

Does an adjective after estar need to agree?

Yes. It always matches the subject: Ella está cansada, Ellos están cansados.

More in Adjectives and comparison

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