In Spanish, adjectives need to match the nouns they describe in two ways: gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular and plural). This is really important for making sentences that are correct and easy to understand. Let’s break it down simply:

Gender Agreement

1. Masculine and Feminine Adjectives:

   • Most Spanish adjectives have a masculine form that usually ends in -o. For example:
     • alto (tall) – masculine singular
     • altos (tall) – masculine plural
   • The feminine form usually ends in -a. For example:
     • alta (tall) – feminine singular
     • altas (tall) – feminine plural
   • Some adjectives, like inteligente (intelligent), can be used for both genders without changing.

2. Examples:

   • El libro es grande. (The book is large. - masculine singular)
   • Las casas son grandes. (The houses are large. - feminine plural)

Number Agreement

1. Singular and Plural:
   • In Spanish, if a noun is singular, the adjective must also be singular. If the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural too.
   • To change most adjectives to plural, if the adjective ends in a vowel, add -s. If it ends in a consonant, add -es.
2. Examples:
   • La carta es roja. (The letter is red. - feminine singular)
   • Las cartas son rojas. (The letters are red. - feminine plural)

Exceptions to the Rules

1. Irregular Forms:

   • Some adjectives have special forms. For example:
     • bueno (good) becomes buen before a masculine noun.
     • malo (bad) becomes mal before a masculine noun.

2. Mixed Gender Groups:

   • If you are talking about a group of mixed genders, always use the masculine plural. For example:
     • Los profesores y las profesoras son inteligentes. (The teachers are intelligent.)

Important Notes

• When describing multiple nouns, the adjective must match the noun that is farthest away in gender and number.
• If you have two singular nouns, one masculine and one feminine, use the masculine plural form.

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the adjectives:

   • La niña es (alto)____.
   • Los niños son (grande)____.
   • La casa es (bonito)____.
   • Los coches son (rápido)____.

2. Fill in the blanks with the right gender and number forms:

   • (tranquilo)____ jardín (masculine singular).
   • (feliz)____ familias (feminine plural).

By learning how to match adjectives with nouns in gender and number, students will get better at speaking and writing in Spanish. These rules are the building blocks for creating more complicated sentences later on. So, keep practicing to really understand these ideas!