Noun-Adjective Agreement

1. Noun-Adjective Agreement Nouns are ALL-POWERFUL!!!!!

2. *Adjectives are words that describe nouns.

3. *Example in English: *In English, adjectives usually come before nouns. • the serious student adjective noun

4. *Example in Spanish: *In Spanish, adjectives usually come after nouns. • el estudianteserio noun adjective

5. In Spanish, adjectives must match the GENDER and NUMBER of the nouns they describe.

6. *First, you must match the gender. *If the noun is masculine (usually ends in –o), the adjective must also bemasculine(usually ends in –o). *Example: el chico alto

7. *If the noun is feminine (usually ends in –a), the adjective must also befeminine (usually ends in –a). *Example: la chicaalta

8. *Next, you match the number. *If the noun is singular (only one of it), the adjective must also besingular. *Example: el chico alto *Example: la chicaalta

9. *If the noun is plural (more than one of it), the adjective must also beplural. *Example: los chicos altos *Example: laschicasaltas

10. *Make sure the article matches in gender and number too! *Example: loschicos altos *Example: laschicasaltas

12. *Adjectives that end in –e match both genders *Example: • el maestrointeligente/la maestrainteligente BUT don’t forget to match NUMBER! *Example: lasmaestrasinteligentes

13. *Adjectives that end in a consonant generally match both genders *Example: el amigojoven *Example: la amigajoven

14. *Some adjectives that end in a consonant add –a to form the feminine. These exceptions must be memorized. *Example: el chicotrabajador *Example: la chicatrabajadora

15. *To make a word plural, add –s if it ends in a vowel *Example: el chico = los chicos *Example: la estudiante= lasestudiantes

16. *To make a word plural, add –esif it ends in a consonant *Example: el estudiantetrabajador = los estudiantestrabajadores *Example: la mujerjoven = lasmujeresjóvenes