A1 · Nouns and adjectives
Concordancia del adjetivo
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and whatever describes it has to match. English speakers find this strange because English adjectives never change at all. The mechanics are simple; the difficulty is that agreement has to happen automatically, in the middle of a sentence, without stopping to think.
Four endings or two
Adjectives ending in -o have four forms. Adjectives ending in -e or in a consonant have only two: singular and plural. This second group is much larger than learners expect, which is good news.
| Type | m. sing. | f. sing. | m. pl. | f. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -o | mojado | mojada | mojados | mojadas |
| -e | grande | grande | grandes | grandes |
| consonant | difícil | difícil | difíciles | difíciles |
| nationality | español | española | españoles | españolas |
Nationalities are the exception inside the exception
Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant do add a feminine -a, even though other consonant adjectives do not. Compare un examen difícil, una tarea difícil with un chico español, una chica española.
- Una profesora española.A Spanish teacher.
- Una clase difícil.A difficult class. · no -a here
Where the adjective sits
The default position is after the noun, which is the opposite of English. Putting it before is possible and changes the flavour: after the noun it distinguishes, before the noun it comments. Un amigo viejo is an old friend by age; un viejo amigo is a friend of many years.
- Un coche nuevo.A new car, recently bought.
- Un nuevo coche.Another car, a different one.
- Un hombre pobre.A man without money.
- Un pobre hombre.A poor soul.
Mixed groups go masculine
When an adjective covers several nouns of different genders, it takes the masculine plural. This is a grammatical default, not a statement about the people involved.
- Mi hermana y mi hermano están cansados.My sister and my brother are tired.
- La mesa y el plato están mojados.The table and the plate are wet.
It is not only adjectives
Articles, demonstratives, possessives and numbers agree too. Once you hear la, esta or unas, the rest of the phrase is already committed.
- la casa blanca
- estas dos camisas nuevas
- unos zapatos rojos
- muchas gracias
Examples
- La ropa mojada.The wet clothes.
- El pelo mojado.The wet hair.
- Los zapatos mojados.The wet shoes.
Mistakes to avoid
La ropa mojado.
La ropa mojada.
Ropa is feminine.
Unos zapatos roja.
Unos zapatos rojos.
Masculine plural noun, masculine plural adjective.
El agua frío.
El agua fría.
Agua takes el for pronunciation but is feminine.
Ellas son cansadas.
Ellas están cansadas.
Agreement is right; the verb is not. Tiredness is a state.
Watch out
A handful of nouns look like the wrong gender: el agua, el problema, el día, la mano, la foto. El agua is still feminine, so the adjective is feminine too: el agua fría.
Try it
La ropa está ___.
El agua está muy ___.
Mi hermana y mi hermano están ___.
Es un problema muy ___.
Una amiga ___.