Language/Galician/Grammar/Adjective-Agreement

Galician → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Adjectives → Adjective Agreement

Galician adjectives are words used to modify nouns or pronouns, and indicate their attributes or qualities. When using adjectives, it is important to remember that they must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Adjective agreement is an essential aspect of the Galician language, and it is important for learners to understand this concept in order to correctly use adjectives in sentences.

Gender Agreement

In Galician, every noun is classified as masculine or feminine. Adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. For example:

Galician	Pronunciation	English
o gato negro	[o ɣa.to ˈne.ɡɾo]	the black cat (masculine singular)
a gata negra	[a ˈɣa.ta ˈne.ɡɾa]	the black cat (feminine singular)

As you can see in the example above, the adjective "negro/negra" agrees with the gender of the noun it describes. If the noun is masculine, the adjective must be masculine ("-o" ending), and if the noun is feminine, the adjective must be feminine ("-a" ending).

Number Agreement

In Galician, nouns and adjectives also have singular and plural forms. Adjectives must agree in number with the noun they describe. For example:

Galician	Pronunciation	English
o gato negro	[o ɣa.to ˈne.ɣɾo]	the black cat (singular)
os gatos negros	[os ˈɣa.tos ˈne.ɣɾos]	the black cats (plural)

As you can see in the example above, the adjective "negro/negros" agrees in number with the noun it describes. If the noun is singular, the adjective must be singular ("-o" ending), and if the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural ("-os" ending).

Irregular Adjectives

There are some Galician adjectives that have irregular forms when agreeing in gender and number. Here are some examples:

Galician	Pronunciation	English
bo/bos (masculine)	[bo/ˈbos]	good
boa/boas (feminine)	[ˈbo.a/ˈbo.as]	good
malo/malos (masculine)	[ˈma.lo/ˈma.los]	bad
mala/malas (feminine)	[ˈma.la/ˈma.las]	bad

It is important to note that when an adjective does not have a separate form for masculine and feminine genders, the masculine form is used.

Plural of Adjectives

When an adjective is used to describe multiple nouns that are of different genders, the masculine plural form of the adjective is used. For example:

Galician	Pronunciation	English
o gato e a cadela son negros	[o ˈɣa.to e a ka.ˈde.la son ˈne.ɣɾos]	the cat and the dog are black

In the example above, the masculine plural form of the adjective "negros" is used to describe both the masculine noun "gato" and the feminine noun "cadela".

Placement of Adjectives

In Galician, adjectives are usually placed after the noun they describe. However, there are some adjectives that are placed before the noun, especially when used to express opinions or attitudes. For example:

• Unha fermosa rosa (a beautiful rose)
• Un terrible accidente (a terrible accident)

Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned about the concept of adjective agreement in Galician. Remember that adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Irregular adjectives exist and have special forms for both genders. When an adjective is used to describe multiple nouns that are of different genders, the masculine plural form of the adjective is used. Adjectives are usually placed after the noun they describe, but some adjectives are placed before the noun to express opinions or attitudes.

Table of Contents - Galician Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Galician

• The Galician Alphabet
• Basic Sentence Structure

  ---

Basic Vocabulary

• Numbers 1-10
• Colors
• Days of the Week
• Months of the Year

  ---

Nouns and Articles

• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Gender and Number

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Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Pronouns

• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns

  ---

Food and Drinks

• Common Foods
• Common Drinks

  ---

Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Adjective Agreement

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Clothing and Accessories

• Common Clothing Items
• Accessories

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Verbs

• Regular Verbs
• Irregular Verbs

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Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Vocabulary

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Prepositions

• Common Prepositions
• Prepositional Phrases

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Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

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Galician Culture

• Galician History
• Galician Traditions
• Galician Cuisine

Other Lessons

• Questions
• Adjectives
• Common Prepositions
• Prepositions
• Be Polite
• Gender
• Indefinite Articles in Galician
• 0 to A1 Course
• Future Tense

Sources

• Galician Grammar
• Galician Grammar → Adjectives → Descriptive Adjectives