How do number in gender affect adjectives in the Spanish language?

1 answer

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. This means that adjectives will change their endings to match the grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun.

Gender Agreement:

  1. Masculine:

    • Adjectives that modify masculine nouns typically end in -o in the singular form.
      • Example: "el coche rojo" (the red car - masculine)
    • In the plural, they typically end in -os.
      • Example: "los coches rojos" (the red cars - masculine plural)
  2. Feminine:

    • Adjectives that modify feminine nouns typically end in -a in the singular form.
      • Example: "la casa roja" (the red house - feminine)
    • In the plural, they typically end in -as.
      • Example: "las casas rojas" (the red houses - feminine plural)

Number Agreement:

  • For both masculine and feminine adjectives, the plural form is created by adding -s or -es, depending on the ending of the adjective:
    • If an adjective ends in a vowel, you add -s.
      • Example: "feliz" (happy) becomes "felices" in the plural for both genders: "los hombres felices" (the happy men), "las mujeres felices" (the happy women).
    • If it ends in a consonant, you usually add -es.
      • Example: "inclusivo" (inclusive) becomes "inclusivos" (masculine plural) and "inclusivas" (feminine plural).

Examples:

  • Single Masculine: un niño alto (a tall boy)
  • Single Feminine: una niña alta (a tall girl)
  • Multiple Masculine: unos niños altos (tall boys)
  • Multiple Feminine: unas niñas altas (tall girls)

In summary, in Spanish, the adjectives change forms based on the gender and number of the nouns they describe, ensuring agreement in both aspects.