Adjective Gender Agreement

One of the first things you will notice about Spanish adjectives is that they change form depending on the noun they describe. This is called gender agreement — the adjective must match the gender (masculine or feminine) of the noun it modifies.

In English, adjectives never change: we say "a tall man" and "a tall woman." In Spanish, we say un hombre alto but una mujer alta. The adjective changes its ending.

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The -o / -a Pattern

The most common adjective pattern in Spanish uses -o for masculine and -a for feminine. This is the pattern you will encounter most often.

Masculine	Feminine	English
alto	alta	tall
bajo	baja	short
guapo	guapa	handsome / pretty
delgado	delgada	thin
gordo	gorda	fat
rubio	rubia	blond
moreno	morena	dark-haired
rico	rica	rich
bonito	bonita	pretty
feo	fea	ugly

Examples

• El chico es alto. (The boy is tall.)
• La chica es alta. (The girl is tall.)
• Tengo un gato negro. (I have a black cat — masculine.)
• Tengo una gata negra. (I have a black cat — feminine.)
• Mi hermano es simpático. (My brother is nice.)
• Mi hermana es simpática. (My sister is nice.)

Tip: If an adjective ends in -o in its base form (the masculine singular), you can almost always change it to -a for the feminine. This is the golden rule of Spanish adjective gender.

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Adjectives Ending in -e

Many adjectives end in -e, and these do not change between masculine and feminine. They have the same form for both genders.

Adjective	English
grande	big, large
inteligente	intelligent
interesante	interesting
importante	important
elegante	elegant
amable	kind, friendly
triste	sad
alegre	happy, cheerful
fuerte	strong
pobre	poor

Examples

• El profesor es inteligente. (The male teacher is intelligent.)
• La profesora es inteligente. (The female teacher is intelligent.)
• Un libro interesante. (An interesting book — masculine.)
• Una historia interesante. (An interesting story — feminine.)

Tip: If an adjective ends in -e, do not try to change it to -a for feminine nouns. It stays as -e regardless of gender.

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Adjectives Ending in a Consonant

Most adjectives ending in a consonant also do not change for gender. They remain the same for masculine and feminine.

Adjective	English
fácil	easy
difícil	difficult
feliz	happy
joven	young
azul	blue
gris	grey
verde	green (note: ends in -e, same rule)
popular	popular
natural	natural

Examples

• El examen es fácil. (The exam is easy.)
• La tarea es fácil. (The homework is easy.)
• Un hombre joven. (A young man.)
• Una mujer joven. (A young woman.)

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The -or / -ora Pattern

Adjectives ending in -or typically add -a to form the feminine: -or becomes -ora.

Masculine	Feminine	English
trabajador	trabajadora	hard-working
hablador	habladora	talkative
encantador	encantadora	charming
emprendedor	emprendedora	enterprising
soñador	soñadora	dreamy

Examples

• Mi padre es muy trabajador. (My father is very hard-working.)
• Mi madre es muy trabajadora. (My mother is very hard-working.)
• Él es encantador. (He is charming.)
• Ella es encantadora. (She is charming.)

Exception: Some adjectives ending in -or are invariable (do not change), such as mejor (better), peor (worse), mayor (older/bigger), and menor (younger/smaller). These are comparative forms and never change for gender.

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Nationality Adjectives

Nationality adjectives follow special rules:

Nationalities ending in -o / -a (standard pattern)

Masculine	Feminine	English
mexicano	mexicana	Mexican
colombiano	colombiana	Colombian
argentino	argentina	Argentinian
italiano	italiana	Italian
ruso	rusa	Russian

Nationalities ending in a consonant: add -a for feminine

Masculine	Feminine	English
español	española	Spanish
inglés	inglesa	English
francés	francesa	French
alemán	alemana	German
japonés	japonesa	Japanese
portugués	portuguesa	Portuguese

Note: When adding -a to nationality adjectives ending in -és, the accent mark is dropped: inglés → inglesa, francés → francesa.

Nationalities ending in -e or certain consonants: no change

Adjective	English
canadiense	Canadian
estadounidense	American (US)
costarricense	Costa Rican
marroquí	Moroccan

Examples

• Carlos es español. (Carlos is Spanish.)
• María es española. (María is Spanish.)
• Un restaurante francés. (A French restaurant.)
• Una película francesa. (A French film.)
• Un estudiante canadiense. (A Canadian student — male.)
• Una estudiante canadiense. (A Canadian student — female.)

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Summary

Adjective Ending	Gender Rule	Example
-o	Changes to -a for feminine	alto → alta
-e	No change	inteligente (both genders)
Consonant	Usually no change	fácil (both genders)
-or	Add -a for feminine	trabajador → trabajadora
Nationality (-és, -án)	Add -a, drop accent	inglés → inglesa

Mastering gender agreement is essential in Spanish. Every time you use an adjective, ask yourself: Is the noun masculine or feminine? Then adjust the adjective accordingly. In the next lesson, we will explore how adjectives also change for number — singular and plural.