- Understand that Spanish ... must match ... in ... and ...
- Learn how -o endings change to -a for feminine (blanco → blanca)
- Master number agreement: add -s or -es to make adjectives plural (grande → grandes)
- Apply colour adjectives correctly (rojo, azul, verde, amarillo)
- Practise describing people and objects with common adjectives
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NounsBeginner
Noun-Adjective Agreement: hombre alto, mujer alta
Match adjectives to nouns in gender and number
What You'll Learn
Overview
Learn how ... change to match ... in ... and number - it's like a matching game!
The Golden Rule: Adjectives = Nouns
elgatonegro
Both masculine singular
lagatanegra
Both feminine singular
Two Rules to Remember
1. Gender: Masculine/Feminine must match
2. Number: Singular/Plural must match
Structure & Formation
Adjectives must agree with nouns in both gender and number. Here are the key patterns.
Gender Agreement Rules
Only adjectives ending in -o change for gender! Those ending in -e or consonants stay the same.
Masculine
gato blanco
gato grande
gato azul
Feminine
gata blanca
gata grande
gata azul
Quick Gender Transformation
-o → -a
blanco → blanca
CHANGES
-e stays -e
grande → grande
NO CHANGE
consonant same
azul → azul
NO CHANGE
Number Agreement Rules
Adjectives also change for singular vs plural - just like nouns!
Singular
el perro grande
la mesa redonda
Plural
los perros grandes
las mesas redondas
Making Adjectives Plural
Vowel ending: add -s (grande → grandes) | Consonant: add -es (azul → azules)
Advanced Patterns
Position changes meaning
un gran hombre = a great man
un hombre grande = a big man
Shortened forms (before masc. singular)
bueno → buen día | malo → mal momento | primero → primer piso | grande → gran hombre
Mixed gender groups
When mixed, use masculine plural: chicos + chicas = Los chicos altos
Examples
Masculine Singular
-o adjective
el gato negro
the black cat
-o adjective
el hombre alto
the tall man
-o adjective
el coche rojo
the red car
-e adjective
el perro grande
the big dog
Consonant
el libro azul
the blue book
Feminine Singular
-a adjective
la gata negra
the black cat
-a adjective
la mujer alta
the tall woman
-a adjective
la casa roja
the red house
-e adjective
la mesa grande
the big table
Consonant
la flor azul
the blue flower
Masculine Plural
-os adjective
los gatos negros
the black cats
-os adjective
los hombres altos
the tall men
-os adjective
los coches rojos
the red cars
-es adjective
los perros grandes
the big dogs
-es adjective
los libros azules
the blue books
Feminine Plural
-as adjective
las gatas negras
the black cats
-as adjective
las mujeres altas
the tall women
-as adjective
las casas rojas
the red houses
-es adjective
las mesas grandes
the big tables
-es adjective
las flores azules
the blue flowers
Quick Agreement Rules
-o endings
Change to -a for feminine
blanco → blanca
-e endings
No change for gender
grande → grande
Consonant endings
No change for gender
azul → azul
Common Mistakes
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Gender mismatch
la casa blanco → la casa blanca (the white house)
Feminine noun needs feminine adjective! Casa is feminine, so blanco → blanca.
Number mismatch
los perros grande → los perros grandes (the big dogs)
Plural noun needs plural adjective! Add -s to grande.
Double mismatch
las mesas negro → las mesas negras (the black tables)
Both gender AND number must match! Negro → negras (feminine + plural).
Forgetting -e doesn't change
la casa verda → la casa verde (the green house)
Adjectives ending in -e don't change for gender! Verde stays verde.
Quick Reference
-o endings: Change to -a for feminine (blanco → blanca)
-e endings: No change for gender (grande → grande)
Plural: Add -s after vowels, -es after consonants
Quick Test
Test your understanding of noun-adjective agreement:
1. 🐱 Cat colours! How do you say 'the black cat' (feminine)?
2. 📚 Books! What's the correct form for 'red books'?
3. 🏠 House description! How do you say 'the big houses'?
4. 🐕 Dog descriptions! What's 'a big dog' (masculine)?
5. 👨 Man descriptions! How do you say 'the tall man'?
6. 🚗 Car colours! What's the correct form for 'the blue car' (masculine)?
7. 👧 Girl descriptions! How do you say 'the intelligent girls'?
8. 🎨 Art class! What's correct for 'a green table' (feminine)?
Want more practice? Try our interactive fill-in-the-blank exercises to master articles and agreement!