Spanish Adjectives - Agreement

Agreement

Adjectives in Spanish can mostly be divided into two large groups: those that can be found in the dictionary ending in o, and the others. The former typically agree for number and gender; the latter typically agree just for number. Here are some examples:

frío means "cold". This is the dictionary form, and it corresponds to the masculine singular form. When it agrees with a feminine noun, it becomes fría. When it agrees with a plural noun, it becomes fríos. When it agrees with a noun that is both feminine and plural, it becomes frías. Here is a list of a few common adjectives in their four forms:

• frío = "cold"; → frío, fría, fríos, frías
• pequeño = "small"; → pequeño, pequeña, pequeños, pequeñas
• rojo = "red"; → rojo, roja, rojos, rojas

Identifying adjectives diagram

Do Adjectives End in "o"? / \ / \ Yes No / \ / \ / \ / \ Masculine? Feminine? Singular? \ (No Change)("o" becomes "a") (No Change)\ \ / \ \ / Plural Plural / \ (Add "s") / \ End in Vowel? \ (Add "s") End in Consonant? (Add "es")

Here are a few common adjectives that agree only in number:

• caliente = "hot" → caliente, caliente, calientes, calientes
• formal = "formal" → formal, formal, formales, formales
• verde = "green" → verde, verde, verdes, verdes

The division into these two groups is a generalisation however. There are many examples such as the adjective español itself which does not end in o but adds an a for the feminine and has four forms (español, española, españoles, españolas). There are also adjectives that do not agree at all (generally words borrowed from other languages, such as the French beige (also Hispanicised to beis)).