Adjectives — Agreement

Adjectives — Agreement

A Spanish adjective agrees in gender (as discussed in the previous section) and number (i.e., singular or plural) with the noun or pronoun it modifies. The same rules also apply to past participles acting as adjectives.

La mujer es baja.
The woman is short.

Las mujeres son bajas.
The women are short.

La ventana está cerrada.
The window is closed.

Las ventanas están cerradas.
The windows are closed.

Agreement with (multiple nouns)

When an adjective is used to qualify more than one noun, however, the agreement of the adjective is determined by the following rules:

In the case where an adjective modifies two or more nouns of the same gender, the adjective becomes plural and agrees in gender with the nouns.

La ventana y la puerta están cerradas.
The door and the window are closed.

An adjective modifying two or more nouns (singular or plural) of different genders is generally masculine plural in form.

Las plumas y los lápices son baratos.
The pens and the pencils are cheap.