Agreement of Adjectives

Agreement of Adjectives

In Spanish the adjective must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or femenine) with the nouns or pronouns they modify.

a) Adjectives that end in –o are masculine singular have four forms, ending in –o (masculine singular), -a (femenine singular), -os (masculine pluras), -as (femenine plural)

Masculine
Femenine

Singular
El muchacho blanco
La muchada blanca

Plural
Los muchachos blancos
Las muchachas blancas

.

b) Adjectives that end in -e or in a consonant other than –n or –r have only two forms, a singular and a plural. They are usually the same in the masculine and feminine singular and change only to agree in number with the noun they describe. Like nouns, adjectives are made plural by adding –s (those ending in –e, add –s for th plural), -es (those ending in a consonant add –es), or by changing z to e and addis –es.

Masculine
Femenine

Singular
El muchacho inteligente
La muchacha inteligente

Plural
Los muchachos inteligentes
Las muchachas inteligentes

Singular
El chico feliz
La chica feliz

Plural
Los chicos felices
Las chicas felices

These adjectives don’t normally reflect gender: un muchado inteligente, una mujer interesante, unos muchachos inteligentes, unas mujeres interesantes, un precio especial, una comida especial, unos precios especiales, unas comidas especiales.

Exceptions to the above rule:

c) Some adjectives have a masculine plural in –es but end in –a in the femeniine singular and in –as in the femenine plural.

1.-Most adjectives of nationality, region or place have four forms, including those that end in a consonant. Adjectives of nationality that end in a consonant are made feminine by adding –a to the masculine form:

Masculine
Femenine

Singular
El profesor inglés
La profesora inglesa

Plural
Los profesores ingleses
Las profesoras inglesas

Singular
El cantante alemán
La cantante alemana

Plural
Los cantantes alemanes
Las cantantes alemanas

2.- Adjectives ending in: -án, -in, -ón, -or are made plural by adding –es and –as for the femenine plural.

Masculine
Femenine

Singular
cantor
cantora

Plural
cantores
cantoras

Singular
charlatán
charlatana

Plural
charlatanes
charlatana

d) Some adjectives end in –a, -e, -l, -r, -s, -z, regardless of gender, have only one form for both genders.

Masculine
Femenine

Singular
Un hombre entusiasta
Una mujer entusiasta

Plural
Unos hombres entusiastas
Unas mujeres entusiastas

Chico triste

Noticia triste

Niño belga

Niña belga

Obrero capaz

Persona capaz

Chico débil

Salud débil

Actor popular

Actriz popular

Libro socialista

Escritora socialista

Empleado cortés

Empleada cortés

e) Comparative adjectives ending in –or do not change and have only one form for masculie and femenine:

peor
mejor
menor
mayor
Ulterior

superior
inferior
interior
exterior
posterior