Spanish adjective agreement: gender and plural endings
Spanish adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender and number. If the noun is masculine singular, use the masculine singular adjective: coche rojo. If the noun is feminine singular, use the feminine form: casa roja. If the noun is plural, the adjective is plural too: coches rojos, casas rojas.
The noun controls the adjective; English word order or the speaker’s gender does not.
| Noun | Adjective form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | -o |
un coche rojoa red car |
| feminine singular | -a |
una casa rojaa red house |
| masculine plural | -os |
coches rojosred cars |
| feminine plural | -as |
casas rojasred houses |
ends in -e or many consonants |
same gender form, plural changes | una casa grandea big house |
Match gender first
Many common adjectives ending in -o change to -a with feminine nouns.
un libro nuevo / una mesa nueva
a new book / a new tableel coche rojo / la puerta roja
the red car / the red door
Gender comes from the noun. A male speaker still says una camisa roja because camisa is feminine.
Then match number
When the noun is plural, add the plural ending to the adjective too.
dos libros nuevos
two new bookstres casas blancas
three white houses
If the adjective already ends in a consonant, add -es for the plural.
un examen difícil / exámenes difíciles
a difficult exam / difficult exams
Some adjectives do not change for gender
Adjectives ending in -e usually keep the same singular form for masculine and feminine nouns. They still change for plural.
un libro interesante / una película interesante
an interesting book / an interesting movielibros interesantes / películas interesantes
interesting books / interesting movies
Many adjectives ending in a consonant also share one masculine/feminine singular form, though nationality adjectives often add -a: español / española.
Agreement still matters when the adjective moves
Spanish often puts adjectives after the noun, but position and agreement are separate rules. Even before the noun, the adjective still has to match.
una buena idea
a good ideabuenos amigos
good friends
For the word-order side, see Spanish adjective placement.
Common mistakes
Leaving the adjective masculine by default
The feminine noun needs a feminine adjective.
la casa rojo→ la casa roja
the red house
Forgetting the plural ending
Plural nouns make their adjectives plural too.
coches rojo→ coches rojos
red cars
Changing every adjective to -a
Adjectives like interesante and grande do not add -a for feminine singular nouns.
una película interesanta→ una película interesante
an interesting movie
Adjective agreement becomes easier when every noun arrives with its article and every adjective is attached to a real thing. Fluera trains that whole phrase: el coche rojo, la casa roja, los coches rojos. Use it when you practice Spanish, and agreement turns into a check you hear inside the sentence.
Practice
Make the adjective agree
Question 1 of 10
Frequently asked questions
What does adjective agreement mean in Spanish?
Do all Spanish adjectives change from -o to -a?
-o change to -a, but adjectives ending in -e usually keep the same singular form: un libro interesante, una película interesante. They still become plural: interesantes.