Question

in english, explain how Spanish adjectives change to show:
a. gender
b. number

Answer 1

In Spanish, adjectives change form to agree with the nouns they modify in terms of gender and number.

### a. Gender:
Spanish nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. Adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe.

- **Masculine**: Generally, adjectives that end in "-o" are masculine. For example, "alto" (tall) in "el hombre alto" (the tall man).
- **Feminine**: Adjectives that end in "-a" are typically feminine. For example, "alta" in "la mujer alta" (the tall woman).

Some adjectives have irregular forms or do not follow the typical "-o" and "-a" endings:
- For instance, "feliz" (happy) remains the same for both genders: "el hombre feliz" (the happy man) and "la mujer feliz" (the happy woman).

### b. Number:
Adjectives in Spanish also change to reflect whether the noun is singular or plural.

- **Singular**: The default forms of adjectives are often used when describing a singular noun. For example, "alto" (tall) is used in "el niño alto" (the tall boy).
- **Plural**: To make an adjective plural, generally, you add "-s" or "-es" to the end of the adjective:
- If the adjective ends in a vowel, just add "-s" (e.g., "altos" for masculine plural and "altas" for feminine plural: "los niños altos" - the tall boys, and "las niñas altas" - the tall girls).
- If the adjective ends in a consonant, you typically add "-es" (e.g., "felices" for both masculine and feminine plural forms: "los hombres felices" - the happy men and "las mujeres felices" - the happy women).

In summary, Spanish adjectives change their endings to agree with the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the nouns they describe.