Adjective agreement

Foreign Languages

Definition

Adjective agreement is the grammatical rule requiring adjectives to change their endings to match the gender, number, and sometimes case of the noun they describe. This is a core feature of Spanish, French, German, and many other languages but does not exist in English or Chinese.

Examples

  • Spanish: 'la casa blanca' (the white house) — 'blanca' is feminine singular to match 'casa.'
  • French: 'les petites filles' (the little girls) — 'petites' is feminine plural to match 'filles.'
  • German: 'ein großer Mann' (a tall man) — 'großer' takes a masculine nominative ending after 'ein.'

Related Terms

Adjectives Colors and sizes Demonstrative adjectives Describing people

Study This Concept

Practice adjective agreement with free review games in these units:

French 1-2 Unit 2: Family and Descriptions