Topic Summaries

Gender and number agreement of adjectives

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IGCSE > Spanish > Pearson IGCSE > IGCSE Spanish Topic Summaries > Grammar III: Adjectives and adverbs > Gender and number agreement of adjectives
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DIALOGUE EXAMPLES: The wider world

  • Adjectives must agree with the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun they describe. For example:
    • -o = masculine singular: El chico guapo (The handsome boy)
    • -a = feminine singular: La chica guapa (The pretty girl)
    • -os = masculine plural: Los chicos guapos (The handsome boys)
    • -as = feminine plural: Las chicas guapas (The pretty girls)
  • Some adjectives don’t change for gender but do for number.
    • -e/-es: same for masculine/feminine; add -s for plural:
      • El chico inteligente (The intelligent boy)
      • La chica inteligente (The intelligent girl)
      • Los chicos inteligentes (The intelligent boys)
      • Las chicas inteligentes (The intelligent girls)
    • -z: change to -ces for plurals:
      • Un chico feliz (A happy boy)
      • Dos chicos felices (Two happy boys)
      • Una niña feliz (A happy girl)
      • Unas niñas felices (some happy girls)
    • -ista/-istas: no change for gender; add -s for plurals:
      • El estudiante futbolista (the footballer student)
      • La estudiante futbolista (the footballer student)
      • Los estudiantes futbolistas (the footballer students)
      • Las estudiantes futbolistas (the footballer students)
  • Adjectives of nationality have specific spelling patterns. Adjectives ending in consonants usually follow the pattern:
    • -és, -esa, -eses, -esas. Note that the accent on -és disappears in plural. For example:
      • El chico francés (The French boy)
      • La chica francesa (The French girl)
      • Los chicos franceses (The French boys)
      • Las chicas francesas (The French girls)
    • Another pattern: -ol, -ola, -oles, -olas. For example:
      • El chico español (The Spanish boy)
      • La chica española (The Spanish girl)
      • Los chicos españoles (The Spanish boys)
      • Las chicas españolas (The Spanish girls)

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