In Spanish, nouns and adjectives need to match in gender and number. This is super important for speaking and writing correctly.

Gender Agreement

1. Finding Gender:
   In Spanish, nouns can be masculine or feminine. You can usually tell what they are by how they end:

   • Masculine nouns usually end in -o, like “niño” (boy) or “libro” (book).
   • Feminine nouns usually end in -a, like “niña” (girl) or “casa” (house).

2. Some Exceptions:
   Some nouns don’t follow these rules:

   • “El día” (the day) is masculine, even though it ends in -a.
   • “La mano” (the hand) is feminine, although it ends in -o.

Number Agreement

1. Singular and Plural:
   Adjectives change based on whether the noun is singular (one) or plural (more than one):
   • For masculine nouns, add -s or -es to make it plural:
     • Singular: “niño alto” (tall boy)
     • Plural: “niños altos” (tall boys)
   • For feminine nouns, do the same:
     • Singular: “niña alta” (tall girl)
     • Plural: “niñas altas” (tall girls)

Adjective Agreement Rules

1. Matching Gender:
   When describing a noun, the adjective must match the noun in gender.

   • Examples:
     • Masculine singular: “El perro grande” (the big dog)
     • Feminine singular: “La gata grande” (the big cat)

2. Matching Number:
   The adjective must also match the noun in whether it's singular or plural.

   • Examples:
     • Masculine plural: “Los perros grandes” (the big dogs)
     • Feminine plural: “Las gatas grandes” (the big cats)

Special Cases in Adjective Placement

1. Adjective Before the Noun:
   Some adjectives can go before the noun. This can change how we understand the word:

   • Example:
     • “Ese chico alto” (that tall boy) shows that he is tall.

2. Adjective After the Noun:
   Usually, adjectives come after the noun for a simple description.

   • Example:
     • “El chico alto” (the tall boy) just describes him.

3. Changing Meanings:
   Where you place the adjective can change its meaning:

   • “Un viejo amigo” (an old friend) means a friend you’ve known for a long time.
   • “Un amigo viejo” (an old friend) means a friend who is old.

Important Vocabulary

• Nouns:
  • Niño (boy), niña (girl), perro (dog), gata (female cat).
• Adjectives:
  • Alto (tall), corto (short), grande (big), pequeño (small).

Practice Sentences

1. Changing from Singular to Plural:

   • Singular: “El coche rojo” (the red car)
   • Plural: “Los coches rojos” (the red cars)

2. Using Different Genders:

   • Masculine: “El libro interesante” (the interesting book)
   • Feminine: “La montaña interesante” (the interesting mountain)

3. Making Complex Sentences:

   • “Los estudiantes altos y las estudiantes altas están en la clase.” (The tall male students and the tall female students are in the class.)

Understanding how gender and number work together in nouns and adjectives is key to writing and speaking well in Spanish. Keep practicing to get better!