Noun-Adjective Agreement & Nationalities

Question 1

Explain the noun/adjective agreement. Singular for “-e” and “-o/a”- adjectives.

e - adjectives:
•inglese
• francese
• irlandese

• intelligente
• grande

o/a adjectives:
• Americano/a
• Spagnolo/a
• Tedesco/a

• Bello/a
• Piccolo/a

Answer 1

• Adjectives ending in “-e” do NOT change for gender. (They remain the same whether they refer to a boy or girl).

~eg) Lisa è ingles-e (Lisa is English)
~eg) Marco è ingles-e (Marco is English)

• Adjectives ending “-o/a” do change for gender. If they refer to a male, chose the “-o” ending, but for females the ending is “-a”.

~eg) Lisa è american-a
~eg) Marco è american-o

Question 2

Explain the noun/adjective agreement. Plural for “-e” and “o/a”.

Answer 2

• “-e” adjectives simply change their last letter to “-i”.

~eg) Lisa e Anna sono ingles-i.
(Lisa and Anna are English)

~eg) Marco e Luigi sono ingles-i.
(Marco and Luigi are English)

• “-o/a” adjectives change their last letter to “-e” (if they refer to a feminine noun)

OR
• “-i” (if they refer to a masculine noun)

~eg) Lisa e Anna sono american-e
(Lisa and Anna are American)

~eg) Marco e Luigi sono american-i
(Marco and Luigi are American)

Question 3

***What if the adjective refers to a boy AND a girl?

~American-o/a

Answer 3

Boys are stronger, masculine wins. So, change the last letter to an
“-i”

~eg) Marco e Lisa sono american-i
(Marco and Lisa are American)

Question 4

What are adjectives?

Answer 4

They are describing words

Question 5

Do these adjectives apply to ALL adjectives (describing words)?

Answer 5

Yes!
• It applies to ALL adjectives, not just nationalities.

~eg) Marco è grand-e. Lisa è grand-e.
Marco e Lisa sono grand-i.

~eg) Marco è piccol-o. Lisa è piccol-a
Marco e Lisa sono piccol-i