AdjetivosA1

Adjetivos: concordancia

Adjective agreement in gender and number with nouns

Learning Goal

Can make adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number and place them correctly

Exam Skills:Comprensión de lecturaExpresión escrita

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

La casa es grande y bonita.

The house is big and pretty.

Tengo dos gatos negros.

I have two black cats.

Es un buen libro, no un mal libro.

It's a good book, not a bad book.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

En español, los adjetivos deben concordar con el sustantivo en género (masculino/femenino) y número (singular/plural).

MasculinoFemenino
Singularel chico altola chica alta
Plurallos chicos altoslas chicas altas

Tipos de adjetivos:

TipoMasc. Sing.Fem. Sing.Masc. Pl.Fem. Pl.
4 formas (-o/-a)altoaltaaltosaltas
2 formas (-e)grandegrandegrandesgrandes
2 formas (cons.)fácilfácilfácilesfáciles

Posición: La mayoría de los adjetivos van después del sustantivo: un coche rojo, una casa grande. Algunos van antes: bueno, malo, grande (acortados: buen, mal, gran).

Forgetting to change the adjective ending to match the noun gender/number. Also placing adjectives before the noun (English pattern) instead of after. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English adjectives never change form, so agreement is a new concept. Also adjective position: English 'a red car' → Spanish 'un coche rojo' (after the noun).

La casa es grande y bonita.

The house is big and pretty.

'Casa' is feminine → 'bonita' (not bonito). 'Grande' doesn't change for gender (2-form adjective).

Tengo dos gatos negros.

I have two black cats.

'Gatos' is masculine plural → 'negros' (masculine plural). Both noun and adjective must agree.

Es un buen libro, no un mal libro.

It's a good book, not a bad book.

'Bueno' shortens to 'buen' before a masculine singular noun. 'Malo' shortens to 'mal'. These go BEFORE the noun.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

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