Adjective Agreement Rules

Learn how Spanish adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural)!

The Basic Rule

In Spanish, adjectives MUST match the noun in:

1. Gender (masculine or feminine)
2. Number (singular or plural)

English: The tall boy / The tall girl / The tall boys / The tall girls

• Adjective "tall" never changes!

Spanish: El chico alto / La chica alta / Los chicos altos / Las chicas altas

• Adjective changes for gender AND number!

Gender Agreement

Masculine and Feminine Forms

Most adjectives have different forms for masculine and feminine:

Pattern:

• Masculine ends in -o
• Feminine ends in -a

Examples:

• El chico alto (The tall boy - masculine)
• La chica alta (The tall girl - feminine)
• Un libro nuevo (A new book - masculine)
• Una casa nueva (A new house - feminine)

Adjectives Ending in -E

Adjectives ending in -e are THE SAME for both genders:

Examples:

• El hombre inteligente (masculine)
• La mujer inteligente (feminine)
• Un libro interesante (masculine)
• Una película interesante (feminine)

Key point: Same form for both! No change needed!

Adjectives Ending in Consonants

Most adjectives ending in a consonant are THE SAME for both genders:

Examples:

• El problema difícil (masculine)
• La tarea difícil (feminine)
• Un coche azul (masculine)
• Una casa azul (feminine)

Exceptions: Nationality and Origin Adjectives

Adjectives of nationality/origin ending in consonant ADD -a for feminine:

Examples:

• El hombre español (masculine)
• La mujer española (feminine)
• Un libro inglés (masculine)
• Una canción inglesa (feminine)

Note: Nationalities ending in -o/-a follow regular pattern:

• mexicano/mexicana
• italiano/italiana
• colombiano/colombiana

Number Agreement (Plural)

Making Adjectives Plural

Rule 1: If adjective ends in vowel, add -s

Examples:

• El chico alto → Los chicos altos
• La chica alta → Las chicas altas
• El libro grande → Los libros grandes

Rule 2: If adjective ends in consonant, add -es

Examples:

• El coche azul → Los coches azules
• La tarea difícil → Las tareas difíciles
• El hombre español → Los hombres españoles

Rule 3: If adjective ends in -z, change to -ces

Examples:

• El niño feliz → Los niños felices
• La mujer capaz → Las mujeres capaces

Complete Agreement Pattern

All Four Forms

Most adjectives have FOUR forms total:

Examples with all four forms:

ALTO (tall):

• El chico alto (the tall boy)
• La chica alta (the tall girl)
• Los chicos altos (the tall boys)
• Las chicas altas (the tall girls)

PEQUEÑO (small):

• El perro pequeño (the small dog - m.sg.)
• La casa pequeña (the small house - f.sg.)
• Los perros pequeños (the small dogs - m.pl.)
• Las casas pequeñas (the small houses - f.pl.)

Adjectives with Only Two Forms

Adjectives ending in -e or consonant have only TWO forms:

GRANDE (big):

• El libro grande (m.sg.)
• La casa grande (f.sg.)
• Los libros grandes (m.pl.)
• Las casas grandes (f.pl.)

DIFÍCIL (difficult):

• El examen difícil (m.sg.)
• La tarea difícil (f.sg.)
• Los exámenes difíciles (m.pl.)
• Las tareas difíciles (f.pl.)

Mixed Gender Groups

Rule: Use MASCULINE PLURAL

When describing a group with both males and females, use the masculine plural form:

Examples:

• Juan y María son altos (Juan and María are tall)
• Los chicos y las chicas son inteligentes (The boys and girls are intelligent)
• Mi padre y mi madre son españoles (My father and mother are Spanish)

Even if there are 100 women and 1 man: Use masculine plural!

Adjective Placement

Rule: Most Adjectives Come AFTER the Noun

Spanish: noun + adjective English: adjective + noun

Remember: This is OPPOSITE of English word order!

Exceptions: Adjectives BEFORE the Noun

Some adjectives commonly go before the noun:

Quantity adjectives:

• mucho dinero (a lot of money)
• poco tiempo (little time)
• varios libros (several books)

Numbers:

• dos casas (two houses)
• primer día (first day)
• último año (last year)

Possessives:

• mi libro (my book)
• tu casa (your house)
• nuestro coche (our car)

Common adjectives with special meanings:

• buen hombre (good man - shortened "bueno")
• gran ciudad (great city - shortened "grande")

Special Adjectives: Grande and Bueno

Grande → Gran (Before Singular Nouns)

After noun: grande (big - size)

• Una casa grande (a big house)
• Un perro grande (a big dog)

Before noun: gran (great - quality)

• Un gran hombre (a great man)
• Una gran idea (a great idea)

Note: "Gran" is used for BOTH masculine and feminine!

Bueno → Buen (Before Masculine Singular Nouns)

After noun: bueno/a (good)

• Un libro bueno (a good book - after)
• Una película buena (a good movie)

Before masculine singular: buen

• Un buen libro (a good book - before)
• Un buen hombre (a good man)

Before feminine: buena (no shortening!)

• Una buena idea (a good idea)

Multiple Adjectives

How to Use Multiple Adjectives

With Y (and):

• Un coche grande y rojo (a big and red car)
• Una mujer inteligente y simpática (an intelligent and nice woman)

Without Y (listing):

• Un libro nuevo, interesante y barato (a new, interesting and cheap book)

All adjectives must agree!

• Una casa grande, bonita y cara (a big, pretty and expensive house)

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Make Adjectives Agree

Change the adjective to match the noun:

1. El chico (alto)
2. La chica (alto)
3. Los chicos (alto)
4. Las chicas (alto)
5. El libro (interesante)
6. Las casas (grande)

Answers:

1. El chico alto
2. La chica alta
3. Los chicos altos
4. Las chicas altas
5. El libro interesante (no change - ends in -e)
6. Las casas grandes (add -s)

Exercise 2: Adjective Placement

Put these in correct order:

1. un / libro / interesante
2. roja / una / casa
3. español / un / hombre
4. grande / perro / un
5. dos / coches

Answers:

1. un libro interesante (after noun)
2. una casa roja (after noun)
3. un hombre español (after noun)
4. un perro grande (after noun)
5. dos coches (number before noun)

Exercise 3: Multiple Forms

Give all four forms:

1. pequeño → pequeño, ___, ___, ___
2. azul → azul, azul, ___, ___
3. español → español, ___, ___, ___

Answers:

1. pequeño, pequeña, pequeños, pequeñas
2. azul, azul, azules, azules (only 2 forms!)
3. español, española, españoles, españolas

Exercise 4: Translate

Translate paying attention to agreement:

1. The tall girl
2. The interesting books (m)
3. The big houses
4. A good friend (m)
5. The Spanish women

Answers:

1. La chica alta
2. Los libros interesantes
3. Las casas grandes
4. Un buen amigo / Un amigo bueno
5. Las mujeres españolas

Common Patterns Summary

Four Forms (-o/-a adjectives)

Example: alto

• alto, alta, altos, altas

Two Forms (-e and most consonant adjectives)

Example: grande

• grande, grandes

Example: azul

• azul, azules

Nationality Adjectives (consonant ending)

Example: español

• español, española, españoles, españolas

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake 1: Forgetting Gender Agreement

Wrong: ❌ La casa grande (should end in -a if it's -o/-a adjective) Wait: ✅ Actually CORRECT! "Grande" ends in -e, so no change needed!

Wrong: ❌ La chica alto Right: ✅ La chica alta

Match the gender!

❌ Mistake 2: Wrong Adjective Placement

Wrong: ❌ Un rojo coche Right: ✅ Un coche rojo

Most adjectives come AFTER the noun!

❌ Mistake 3: Forgetting Plural Agreement

Wrong: ❌ Los libros interesante Right: ✅ Los libros interesantes

Add -s or -es for plural!

❌ Mistake 4: Wrong Plural for -z Endings

Wrong: ❌ Los niños felizs Right: ✅ Los niños felices (-z changes to -ces)

Quick Reference Chart

Most Common Adjectives

Your Action Plan

Week 1: Basic Gender Agreement

• Learn -o/-a pattern (alto/alta)
• Practice with 10 common adjectives
• Match adjectives to nouns

Week 2: Plural Forms

• Master adding -s and -es
• Learn -z → -ces change
• Practice all four forms

Week 3: Special Cases

• Learn -e and consonant adjectives
• Master nationality adjectives
• Practice mixed gender groups

Week 4: Placement and Natural Usage

• Master adjective placement (after noun!)
• Learn exceptions (numbers, possessives)
• Use in full sentences

Pro Tip: When learning a new adjective, always learn all its forms! Write: "alto, alta, altos, altas" - not just "alto"!

Practice: Describe everything around you with adjectives: "La mesa grande," "Los libros interesantes," "El coche rojo." This builds automatic agreement!

Memory Trick:

• -o = masculine (like "hombro" - man)
• -a = feminine (like "mujea"... wait, that doesn't work, but most feminine words end in -a!)
• Adjective AFTER noun = Spanish is "backwards" from English

Remember: Adjective agreement is fundamental to Spanish! Once you master this, your Spanish will sound natural and grammatically correct. Practice until it becomes automatic!