Nouns, Articles and Adjective Agreement

Understanding nouns, articles and adjective agreement is the foundation of Spanish grammar. Every noun in Spanish has a gender (masculine or feminine) and a number (singular or plural), and all articles and adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

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1. Gender of Nouns (El género)

General Rules

Rule	Examples	Exceptions to know
Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine	el libro, el amigo, el colegio	la mano (hand), la foto (photo), la moto (motorbike)
Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine	la mesa, la casa, la chica	el día (day), el mapa (map), el problema, el tema, el sistema
Nouns ending in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad are feminine	la nación, la televisión, la ciudad, la libertad	—
Nouns ending in -ma (of Greek origin) are often masculine	el problema, el tema, el sistema, el programa	la cama (bed)
Nouns ending in -ista can be either gender	el/la periodista, el/la dentista	Depends on the person

Exam tip: Learn the common exceptions — especially "el día", "el mapa", "el problema", "la mano". These are favourites in grammar-testing questions.

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2. Articles (Los artículos)

Definite Articles (the)

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	el	los
Feminine	la	las

Indefinite Articles (a/an, some)

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un	unos
Feminine	una	unas

Special Rules

• el agua (not "la agua") — feminine nouns starting with a stressed "a" or "ha" use "el" in the singular: el agua, el hambre, el águila, el hacha. BUT the noun remains feminine: "El agua está fría" (not "frío").
• After negatives, the indefinite article is often dropped: "No tengo hermanos" (NOT "No tengo unos hermanos").
• Before professions with ser: "Es médico" (NOT "Es un médico") — unless qualified by an adjective: "Es un buen médico."

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3. Plural Formation (El plural)

Ending	Rule	Example
Vowel	Add -s	libro → libros, casa → casas
Consonant	Add -es	ciudad → ciudades, profesor → profesores
-z	Change to -ces	lápiz → lápices, vez → veces
Unstressed vowel + -s	No change	el lunes → los lunes, la crisis → las crisis

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4. Adjective Agreement (La concordancia)

Adjectives MUST agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Agreement Patterns

Adjective type	Masc. sing.	Fem. sing.	Masc. pl.	Fem. pl.
Ends in -o	alto	alta	altos	altas
Ends in -e	grande	grande	grandes	grandes
Ends in consonant	fácil	fácil	fáciles	fáciles
Ends in -or	trabajador	trabajadora	trabajadores	trabajadoras
Ends in -ista	optimista	optimista	optimistas	optimistas

Position of Adjectives

In Spanish, most adjectives go after the noun (unlike English):

• Una casa grande — A big house
• Un libro interesante — An interesting book
• Los ojos azules — Blue eyes

Some common short adjectives can go before the noun:

• buen → un buen amigo (a good friend)
• mal → un mal día (a bad day)
• gran → una gran ciudad (a great city)
• primer → el primer día (the first day)

Exam tip: Adjective agreement errors are heavily penalised. Always check that your adjective matches the noun in gender and number. A common mistake: "una chica simpático" — it MUST be "simpática".

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5. Demonstrative Adjectives

	Masculine sing.	Feminine sing.	Masculine pl.	Feminine pl.	English
Near	este	esta	estos	estas	this / these
Medium	ese	esa	esos	esas	that / those
Far	aquel	aquella	aquellos	aquellas	that (over there) / those

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Key Vocabulary Summary

• Gender rules: -o = masculine, -a = feminine (with exceptions)
• Articles: el/la/los/las (definite), un/una/unos/unas (indefinite)
• Plural: add -s (vowel), -es (consonant), -z → -ces
• Agreement: adjectives match noun in gender and number
• Position: most adjectives follow the noun
• Demonstratives: este/ese/aquel (and feminine/plural forms)