Make adjectives agree in gender and number

Adjectives ending in -o/-a

Many adjectives end in -o (masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish.) or -a (femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish.): el hermano alto, la hermana alta; el libro nuevo, la casa nueva.

Adjectives that do not change for gendergenderThe grammatical class of a Spanish noun: masculine or feminine.

Adjectives ending in -e or in a consonantconsonantA sound other than a, e, i, o, or u, and the letter used to write it. stay the same for masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. and femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish.: el hermano fuerte, la hermana fuerte; el ejercicio fácil, la pregunta fácil.

Nationality adjectives are an exception here: they still get their own femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish. form in -a when they end in a consonantconsonantA sound other than a, e, i, o, or u, and the letter used to write it.: español🔊/española, alemán🔊/alemana.

PluralPluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing.: just like nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.

The pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing. follows the same rule as for nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.: -s after a vowelvowelA sound like a, e, i, o, or u, and the letter used to write it., -es after a consonantconsonantA sound other than a, e, i, o, or u, and the letter used to write it.: alto🔊 → altos, fácil🔊 → fáciles.

This applies to the whole phrase: los libros nuevos, las casas grandes - articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la., nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. and adjective all agree in number.

After ser, too

An adjective after the verb ser (to be) also agrees with the subject: Mi hermano es alto, but mis hermanas son altas. You will learn the full forms of ser🔊 in the next lesson.