- A1 Essential: Understand that Spanish ... must match ... in ... and ...
- Basic pattern: Learn how -o endings change to -a for feminine (blanco → blanca)
- Number agreement: Add -s or -es to make adjectives plural (grande → grandes)
- Common colours: Use basic colour adjectives (rojo, azul, verde, amarillo)
- Simple descriptions: Describe people and objects with basic adjectives (grande, pequeño, bueno, malo)
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Noun-Adjective Agreement: hombre alto, mujer alta
What You'll Learn
Overview / Usage
Spanish Agreement: Making Everything Match
Learn how ... change to match ... in ... and number - it's like a matching game!
The Golden Rule
Adjectives = Nouns
el gatonegro
Both masculine singular
la gatanegra
Both feminine singular
Two Rules to Remember
1. Gender: Masculine/Feminine must match
2. Number: Singular/Plural must match
Structure & Formation
🎯 Gender Agreement Rules
Important: Only adjectives ending in -o change for gender! Adjectives ending in -e or consonants stay the same for both masculine and feminine.
👨
Masculine Forms
-o ending: gato blanco
-e ending: gato grande
consonant: gato azul
⚠️ Only -o endings use -o
-e and consonants stay the same!
👩
Feminine Forms
-a ending: gata blanca
-e ending: gata grande
consonant: gata azul
⚠️ Only -o changes to -a
-e and consonants stay the same!
Quick Gender Transformation
Remember: Only -o endings change!
-o → -a
blanco → blanca
✓ CHANGES
-e stays -e
grande → grande
NO CHANGE
consonant stays same
azul → azul
NO CHANGE
🔢 Number Agreement Rules
Adjectives also change for singular vs plural - just like nouns do!
1️⃣
Singular
el perro grande
la mesa redonda
One thing = singular adjective
2️⃣+
Plural
los perros grandes
las mesas redondas
Multiple things = plural adjective
Making Adjectives Plural
Vowel ending + s
grande → grandes
Consonant + es
azul → azules
📚 For A2+ Learners: Advanced Agreement Concepts
These concepts are more advanced and not needed for A1 level. Focus on the basics first!
📍 When Adjectives Go BEFORE the Noun
While most Spanish adjectives follow the noun, certain types always or often come before. Understanding these patterns helps you sound more natural!
1️⃣ Emphasis & Emotional Nuance
Placing adjectives before the noun adds emphasis or subjective/emotional meaning:
un buen amigo
a good friend (emphasizes positive quality)
una hermosa vista
a beautiful view (more poetic/emotional)
2️⃣ Quantifiers & Numbers
Adjectives indicating quantity always precede the noun:
tres libros
three books
mucho dinero
a lot of money
pocos estudiantes
few students
algunos problemas
some problems
varios días
several days
cada persona
each person
3️⃣ Always Go Before
These adjectives almost always precede the noun:
el primer día
the first day
la próxima semana
next week
el último libro
the last book
la mera idea
the mere idea
el segundo piso
the second floor
la supuesta razón
the supposed reason
Position Changes Meaning
GRANDE (big/great)
un gran hombre = a great man
un hombre grande = a big man
VIEJO (old/former)
un viejo amigo = an old friend (longtime)
un amigo viejo = an old friend (elderly)
NUEVO (new/different)
un nuevo coche = a different car
un coche nuevo = a brand new car
POBRE (poor/unfortunate)
el pobre hombre = the unfortunate man
el hombre pobre = the poor man (no money)
✂️ Shortened Forms (Apocopation)
Some adjectives drop letters when placed BEFORE masculine singular nouns. The position can affect meaning!
⚠️ Important: Position Matters!
un buen día = a good day (general quality)
un día bueno = a good day (emphasizing how good)
un mal momento = a bad moment (general)
un momento malo = a bad moment (really bad!)
Before = general quality | After = emphasis/distinguishing
Forms That Shorten
BUENO → BUEN
un buen día
✓ Before masc. sing.: buen
✗ Feminine: una buena idea
✗ After: un día bueno
MALO → MAL
un mal momento
✓ Before masc. sing.: mal
✗ Feminine: una mala idea
✗ After: un momento malo
PRIMERO → PRIMER
el primer piso
✓ Before masc. sing.: primer
✗ Feminine: la primera vez
✗ After: el piso primero
TERCERO → TERCER
el tercer libro
✓ Before masc. sing.: tercer
✗ Feminine: la tercera página
✗ After: el libro tercero
GRANDE → GRAN
un gran problema
✓ Before ANY singular
✓ Both genders: gran
✗ After: un problema grande
SANTO → SAN
San Pedro
✓ Most saint names
✗ Santo Tomás
✗ Santo Domingo
📝 In Summary
Most adjectives follow the noun, but understanding when they come before helps you:
- Add emphasis or emotion to your descriptions
- Express quantities naturally (mucho, poco, varios)
- Use ordinal numbers correctly (primero, último)
- Master adjectives that change meaning based on position
- Sound more natural and native-like in your Spanish
💡 Native speakers use position to add nuance—now you can too!
👥 Mixed Gender Groups
When describing a group with both masculine and feminine nouns, use MASCULINE PLURAL:
The Masculine Rule
2 chicos + 3 chicas =
Los chicos altos
Even with more girls, use masculine!
El padre y la madre =
Los padres simpáticos
Mixed = masculine plural
El perro y la gata =
Los animales pequeños
Different animals = masculine
🔒 Invariable Adjectives (Never Change!)
Some adjectives NEVER change for gender or number:
Colors from Objects
NARANJA (orange)
el coche naranja
la casa naranja
los coches naranja
ROSA (pink)
el vestido rosa
la flor rosa
las flores rosa
VIOLETA (violet)
el libro violeta
la camisa violeta
los libros violeta
Compound Colors
Colors joined with hyphens never change:
azul marino (navy blue): la camisa azul marino
verde oliva (olive green): los pantalones verde oliva
gris perla (pearl gray): las paredes gris perla
➕ Multiple Adjectives
When using multiple adjectives, ALL must agree with the noun:
Connecting Multiple Adjectives
With "y" (and)
una casa grande y bonita
a big and beautiful house
Both adjectives are feminine singular
With commas
los niños inteligentes, creativos y divertidos
the intelligent, creative and fun children
All three are masculine plural
Mixed positions
un buen libro interesante
a good interesting book
One before (shortened), one after
⚡ Pro Tip
The most important or defining adjective usually goes closest to the noun!
un coche deportivo rojo (a red sports car) - "deportivo" is more defining
Examples
🎨 Real-World Examples
Describing People
el hombre alto (the tall man)
la mujer alta (the tall woman)
los niños inteligentes (the smart children)
las niñas inteligentes (the smart girls)
Describing Objects
el coche rojo (the red car)
la casa roja (the red house)
los coches rojos (the red cars)
las casas rojas (the red houses)
📍 Position Changes Everything!
See how moving the adjective changes the meaning completely:
GRANDE: Great vs Big
Es un gran médico
He's a great doctor (excellent at his job)
Es un médico grande
He's a big doctor (physically large)
VIEJO: Long-time vs Elderly
Mi vieja amiga vive aquí
My long-time friend lives here
Mi amiga vieja vive aquí
My elderly friend lives here
NUEVO: Different vs Brand New
Tengo un nuevo trabajo
I have a different job (changed jobs)
Tengo un trabajo nuevo
I have a new job (recently created position)
POBRE: Unfortunate vs Poor
El pobre niño perdió su pelota
The poor kid lost his ball (feel sorry for him)
El niño pobre no tiene juguetes
The poor child has no toys (lacks money)
Agreement Pattern Chart
Masculine Singular
el gato negro
Feminine Singular
la gata negra
Masculine Plural
los gatos negros
Feminine Plural
las gatas negras
Gotchas / Common Mistakes
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Gender mismatch
❌ Wrong: la casa blanco
✅ Right: la casa blanca(the white house)
Feminine noun needs feminine adjective! Casa is feminine, so blanco → blanca.
❌ Number mismatch
❌ Wrong: los perros grande
✅ Right: los perros grandes(the big dogs)
Plural noun needs plural adjective! Add -s to grande.
❌ Double mismatch
❌ Wrong: las mesas negro
✅ Right: las mesas negras(the black tables)
Both gender AND number must match! Negro → negras (feminine + plural).
❌ Forgetting -e doesn't change
❌ Wrong: la casa verda
✅ Right: la casa verde(the green house)
Adjectives ending in -e don't change for gender! Verde stays verde.
Quick Test / Mini Quiz
📝 Interactive Agreement Quiz
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 colors! 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)?
Useful Resources
Coming soon...