In Spanish, nouns, adjectives, and articles must agree in both gender and number. This means that masculine nouns use masculine words, and feminine nouns use feminine words. Words must also match whether the noun is singular or plural. Learning gender and number agreement is important because it helps Spanish sentences sound natural and correct. In this module, you will learn how gender and number agreement works in Spanish.
Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine. Many masculine nouns end in -o, while many feminine nouns end in -a.
Articles and adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe.
Sample Sentences
El libro es interesante – The book is interesting
La casa es grande – The house is big
El perro corre rápido – The dog runs fast
La mesa es pequeña – The table is small
El gato duerme en la silla – The cat sleeps on the chair
Spanish nouns can be singular or plural. To make most nouns plural, you add -s if the word ends in a vowel, or -es if it ends in a consonant.
Articles and adjectives must also change to match the plural noun.
Sample Sentences
El estudiante estudia en la biblioteca – The student studies in the library
Los estudiantes estudian para el examen – The students study for the exam
La montaña es alta – The mountain is tall
Las montañas rodean el valle – The mountains surround the valley
Los árboles crecen en el bosque – The trees grow in the forest
Adjectives must agree with the noun in both gender and number.
Masculine nouns use masculine adjectives, and feminine nouns use feminine adjectives.
Plural nouns also require plural adjectives.
Sample Sentences
El carro rojo pasa por la avenida – The red car passes down the avenue
La bicicleta roja está en el garaje – The red bicycle is in the garage
El edificio alto domina la plaza – The tall building dominates the plaza
La torre alta se ve desde lejos – The tall tower can be seen from far away
Los barcos grandes cruzan el lago – The big boats cross the lake
In Spanish, the article, noun, and adjective must all match in gender and number.
Masculine nouns often use el or un, while feminine nouns use la or una.
When the noun becomes plural, the article and adjective must also change.
Sample Sentences
El carro blanco está en la calle – The white car is on the street
La camisa blanca está en la tienda – The white shirt is in the store
Los caballos rápidos corren por el campo – The fast horses run through the field
Las flores amarillas crecen en el jardín – The yellow flowers grow in the garden
Una casa pequeña está junto al río – A small house is next to the river
There are common patterns that help identify gender and number in Spanish.
Many masculine nouns end in -o, many feminine nouns end in -a, and plural words often end in -s.
While there are exceptions, these patterns help learners recognize agreement in sentences.
Sample Sentences
El gato negro duerme en el sofá – The black cat sleeps on the sofa
La gata negra camina por el patio – The black cat walks through the yard
Los gatos negros juegan en el jardín – The black cats play in the garden
Las gatas negras observan desde la ventana – The black cats watch from the window
Una casa blanca está en la colina – A white house is on the hill
In this module, you learned how gender and number agreement works in Spanish. Nouns can be masculine or feminine, and they can also be singular or plural. Articles and adjectives must match the noun in both gender and number. Recognizing common patterns such as -o, -a, and plural endings like -s will help you form correct and natural Spanish sentences.