Spanish adjective agreement
Rule for adjectives ending in -o. Use '-o' for masculine nouns and '-a' for feminine nouns. Example: rojo/roja (red).
Rule for making adjectives plural. Add '-s' to make adjectives ending in a vowel plural. Example: rojos/rojas (red, plural).
Rule for adjectives ending in -e. They don't change for gender, but add '-s' for the plural. Example: inteligente/inteligentes (intelligent).
Rule for adjectives ending in a consonant. They don't change for gender, but add '-es' for the plural. Example: azul/azules (blue).
The car is red.
The house is red.
The cars are red.
The houses are red.
The boy is intelligent and the girls are also intelligent.
The core rule of adjective agreement—matching the noun in gender and number—is a fundamental aspect of grammar and is the same in all Spanish-speaking countries.
The rule is identical, but in Spain it will be applied with the pronoun 'vosotros' for the informal plural 'you'. For example, 'Vosotros sois altos' (You all are tall), whereas in Latin America it's 'Ustedes son altos'.
The main difference you'll notice isn't the rule, but the nouns and adjectives used. A 'pretty car' is 'un carro bonito' in Mexico, but could be 'un coche guapo' in Spain. The agreement rule still applies to whichever words are used.
Forgetting to match the gender of the noun. For example, saying 'la casa rojo' instead of 'la casa roja'. — Always change the adjective's ending (usually -o to -a) to match the gender of the noun it's describing. 'Casa' is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine: 'roja'.
Forgetting to make the adjective plural. For example, saying 'los carros rojo' instead of 'los carros rojos'. — If the noun is plural (los carros), the adjective must also be made plural by adding -s or -es.
Trying to change the gender of adjectives that don't end in -o. For example, saying 'la chica intelegenta' for 'the intelligent girl'. — Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant (like 'inteligente', 'fácil', 'azul') do not change for gender. It's 'el chico inteligente' and 'la chica inteligente'.
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