Grammatical Agreement in Spanish

Grammatical agreement is an essential concept that we must learn to form correct and clear sentences in Spanish.

This principle establishes that the words in a sentence must match in certain aspects, such as gender, number, or person, so that the message is clear and coherent.

In this article, you will learn the meaning of grammatical agreement, its types, the rules that govern it, and how to avoid common mistakes when using it so that you can become a professional in its use. 

Let’s get started!

What is grammatical agreement?

Grammatical agreement is the correspondence relationship between the words in a sentence. This means that the words must always match in aspects such as gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural), and person (first, second, or third) for the sentence to make sense. For example:

• Incorrect: El niño juegan en el parque. (The boy play in the park.)
• Correct: El niño juega en el parque. (The boy plays in the park.)

In the incorrect example, the verb "juegan" does not agree with the subject "el niño," as the verb is in plural and the subject is singular.

Grammatical agreement is key for our sentences to be clear and fluid, thus avoiding confusion when reading or listening to the Spanish language.

Types of grammatical agreement

In Spanish, there are two main types of grammatical agreement:

Agreement between subject and verb

This rule establishes that the subject and the verb must always match in number (singular or plural) and in person (first, second, or third).

• Incorrect: Nosotros camina a la tienda.
• Correct: Nosotros caminamos a la tienda. (We walk to the store.)

Agreement between noun and adjective

It is also crucial that the noun and the adjective that describes it agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

• Incorrect: La casa grande están limpio. (The big house are clean.)
• Correct: La casa grande está limpia. (The big house is clean.)

Both types of agreement are fundamental for constructing correct and natural-sounding sentences.

Rules of agreement between subject and verb

Let’s look at the basic rules for ensuring agreement between our subjects and verbs:

Agreement in number (singular, plural)

If the subject is singular, then the accompanying verb must also be in singular. Likewise, if the subject is plural, the verb must be in plural.

• Incorrect: La flor crecen rápidamente. (The flower grow quickly.)
• Correct: La flor crece rápidamente. (The flower grows quickly.)

Agreement in person (first, second, third)

The verb must also match the person performing the action.

• Incorrect: Yo camina a la escuela todos los días. 
• Correct: Yo camino a la escuela todos los días. (I walk to school every day.)

Rules of agreement between noun and adjective

Agreement between the noun and the adjective ensures that they both match in gender and number. This makes our descriptions clear and precise.

Agreement in gender (masculine/feminine)

If the noun is masculine, it is important that the adjective is also masculine. But if the noun is feminine, then the adjective must be feminine.

• Incorrect: Mi bufanda rojo está en casa de su hermana.
• Correct: Mi bufanda roja está en casa de su hermana. (My red scarf is at her sister's house.)

Agreement in number (singular/plural)

As you might have guessed, this rule means that if the noun is singular, our adjective must be singular as well. And if the noun is plural, then the adjective must also be plural.

• Incorrect: Los libros que están en la mesa son nuevas.
• Correct: Los libros que están en la mesa son nuevos. (The books on the table are new.)

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Agreement in special cases

There are some special cases and exceptions to the previous rules that are important to keep in mind to ensure our sentences are correct. Let’s explore them now:

Agreement with collectives

It’s important to note that collective nouns in Spanish, such as "familia" (family), "equipo" (team), or "gente" (people), are always singular even though they refer to a group of people.

• Incorrect: La gente están festejando en el centro.
• Correct: La gente está festejando en el centro. (The people are celebrating in the center.)

Agreement in impersonal constructions

In impersonal sentences, the verb is usually in singular.

• Incorrect: Se piensan diferente en ese país.
• Correct: Se piensa diferente en ese país. (One thinks differently in that country.)

Agreement in compound subjects

When the subject consists of several elements (that is, if it is a compound subject), the verb must be in plural to agree.

• Incorrect: Óscar y Daniel juega videojuegos. 
• Correct: Óscar y Daniel juegan videojuegos. (Óscar and Daniel play video games.)

Exceptions

There are some nouns that can be confusing because, despite ending in -a or -o, they have specific genders that are not always intuitive. For example, in the case of the words “el agua” (the water), “el mapa” (the map), or “la foto” (the photo). It is important to memorize them to avoid mistakes.

• Incorrect: El agua está limpio.
• Correct: El agua está limpia. (The water is clean.)

We know that these rules can seem overwhelming, but don’t worry, with some time and daily practice, you will see that you will understand them without any problems.

Rules of Grammatical Agreement

Summary

As you can see, the rules of grammatical agreement are fundamental for us to write and speak in Spanish correctly and clearly.

The main tip we can give you is to always check that the subject and the verb agree in number and person, and that the nouns and adjectives agree in gender and number in your sentences.

Practice with some simple exercises through the Promova app to improve your skills and learn to avoid common mistakes.

With a little practice, you will master this fundamental aspect of Spanish!