Adjective agreement
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Dijo que no de forma .
She said no emphatically.
The rule
Unlike English, where "red" stays "red" no matter what, Spanish adjectives shift for gender and number. Getting this agreement right is essential because mismatched endings are one of the most noticeable errors to a native speaker.
The pattern
An adjective agrees with its noun in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
Adjectives ending in -o have four forms:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | rojo | rojos |
| Feminine | roja | rojas |
Un libro rojo. Una casa roja. Unos libros rojos. Unas casas rojas.
Adjectives ending in -e do not change for gender. They only add -s for the plural: grande, grandes. Most adjectives ending in a consonant work the same way: fácil, fáciles.
Nationality adjectives ending in a consonant do change for gender: español, española, españoles, españolas.
Most adjectives follow the noun: una ciudad pequeña. A few common ones go before it. Before a masculine singular noun, bueno shortens to buen, malo to mal, grande to gran, primero to primer, and tercero to tercer.
Examples
- Un libro rojoA red book
- Una casa rojaA red house
- Unos libros rojosSome red books
- Unas casas rojasSome red houses
- Una ciudad pequeñaA small city
- Un examen difícilA difficult exam
- Una mujer francesaA French woman
- Un buen libroA good book
Watch out
- Una casa rojo. Una casa roja.The adjective must be feminine to match casa.
- Un bueno libro. Un buen libro.Bueno shortens to buen before a masculine singular noun.
- Una problema serio. Un problema serio.Problema is masculine, even though it ends in -a.
- Una mujer francés. Una mujer francesa.Nationality adjectives ending in a consonant add -a for feminine nouns.