Spanish Adjective Agreement: Una casa pequeña, dos coches pequeños

In English, an adjective does not change for gender or number: a small house, two small cars. In Spanish, the adjective copies the noun — its gender and its number: una casa pequeña, dos coches pequeños. The ending shows the agreement. Adjectives in -o have four forms; most others, such as grande and fácil, have just two.

Adjectives in -o: four forms

Change -o to -a for a feminine noun; add -s for the plural. That gives four endings: -o, -a, -os, -as.

The adjective follows the noun's gender, not its ending. El problema is masculine, so it is un problema serio; la mano is feminine, so it is la mano izquierda. If you are not sure of a noun's gender, see our guide to gender and articles.

Grande, fácil: two forms

Most adjectives that end in -e or in a consonant do not change for gender. They only change for number: one form for the singular, one for the plural.

Nationality adjectives ending in a consonant add -a: español → española, alemán → alemana, francés → francesa. So do many adjectives in -or: trabajador → trabajadora. But mejor, peor, mayor and menor do not change for gender. Feliz and joven follow the usual consonant pattern: one form for both genders.

The plural of adjectives

Adjectives form the plural the same way nouns do: -s after a vowel, -es after a consonant, and -z → -ces.

Adding -es can change the written accent, exactly as with nouns: joven → jóvenes, alemán → alemanes, inglés → ingleses. The full rules are in our guide to plural nouns.

Agreement across the sentence

After ser and estar. The adjective still agrees with the noun it describes, even when a verb stands between them.

Talking about yourself. With yo, the adjective agrees with the speaker. A woman says estoy cansada; a man says estoy cansado.

Mixed groups. For a group with masculine and feminine nouns, standard Spanish usually uses the masculine plural.

In this guide the adjective comes after the noun, which is its usual place in Spanish. Where to put an adjective, and short forms such as buen and gran, are a separate topic.

Common mistakes

Leaving the adjective in -o. English adjectives never change, so learners often forget the feminine. The noun is feminine, so the adjective is too.

Singular adjective, plural noun. The number must match as well as the gender.

Inventing a feminine for grande. Two-form adjectives do not take -a.

Adding only -s after a consonant. After a consonant the plural is -es, as with nouns.

Forgetting the feminine of nationalities. Unlike fácil or azul, nationality adjectives in a consonant do have a feminine form.

Agreeing with the wrong word. The adjective agrees with the noun it describes — here el coche, not mi hermana.

Quick exercise

Write the correct form of the adjective in brackets.

1. una ciudad ___ (pequeño)
2. dos libros ___ (interesante)
3. las preguntas ___ (fácil)
4. un hotel ___ (caro)
5. Mis amigas son muy ___ (simpático).
6. La profesora es ___ (alemán).
7. Pedro y Ana están ___ (feliz).
8. El problema es ___ (serio).