Ch 2 · Lesson 34Spanish · Chapter 2 · Lesson 34 · Grammar primer
Las casas blancas: the whole phrase goes plural
The article and the adjective go plural with the noun, and adding -es can move an accent: , .
The short version
The whole phrase goes plural, not just the noun
.
Why?Hide
The article and every adjective go plural with the noun: , . Gender still or , so despite the -a. Adding -es adds a syllable, so a written accent can drop: , .
The article pluralises with the noun
Each singular article has a plural partner, and they always move together.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| | the days |
| | the houses |
| | some gentlemen |
| | some things |
and mean some or a few:
Madrid .- I'm going to Madrid for a few days..- I'got some things for you.
The noun's gender decides between and , so a masculine noun ending in -a still takes : . Noun gender has the full or .
Preview: adjectives pluralise too
Adjectives follow the same two rules and agree with the noun, so the whole phrase goes plural at once.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| | the white houses |
| | the big dogs |
| | the blue days |
.- The houses are white.
One plural decision, three agreeing words. The adjective agreement page has the full set of endings.
Accent housekeeping
A written accent marks the stressed syllable. Adding -es adds a syllable, so an accent can drop or appear to keep the stress where it was.
| Change | Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| accent drops | | | the songs |
| accent drops | | | the English |
| accent appears | | | young people |
| accent appears | | | the exams |
| accent stays | | | the days |
.- I like these songs..- Young people speak English.
You do not need to memorise these one by one: they fall out of the stress rules. The accent rules page explains why.
Going further: The whole system on one screen and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 34 of 50 in this chapter