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  1. Frequently before a noun in apposition: Santander, ciudad de Espana, Santander, a city of Spain. See 139. 152.

  2.  Before certain indefinite or numeral adjectives, such as otro, another, tal, such a, ciento (cien), a hundred, mil, a thousand: otro nil-1o, another boy. 153.

AGREEMENT OF THE ADJECTIVE 33

consonant add -a to form the feminine: un buque espaliol, una ciudad espaliola. 157.

  1.  Those ending in -An, -On, -in, -or (except the irregular comparatives mejor, peor, mayor, menor) add -a and drop the accent: holgazin, holgazana, lazy; trabajador, trabajadora, industrious; but, la mejor casa, the best house. 158.

  2. Some ending in -a are invariable for gender: belga, Belgian; agricola, agricultural; cosmopolita, cosmopolitan. 159.

  3. If an adjective modifies two or more nouns of different genders it is given the masculine plural form when the nouns represent persons: la madre y el niiio estfin contentos. But if the nouns denote things, the gender of the adjective may be that of the nearest noun: el pupitre y la silla estin rotas, the desk and the chair are broken. 160.

  4. When the nouns, denoting things, are very similar in meaning, the adjective may agree with the nearest noun: la energia y esfuerzos maravillosos del hombre, the man's wonderful energy and efforts. 161.

  5.  When a plural noun is modified by two or more adjectives, each of which refers to a separate singular noun included in the plural noun, the adjectives are singular but agree in gender with the plural noun: las revolu-

VI. THE ADJECTIVE

A. DESCRIPTIVE (descriptivo),

I. Those of nationality are written with small initial letter. Soy americano, I am (an) American; una ciudad espariola, a Spanish city. 154.

2. Agreement.

  1.  An adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun or pronoun, expressed or understood, which it modifies: el libro nuevo ; la pluma nueva ; ellas estfin contentas. 155.

  2.  If the masculine singular ends in -o, the feminine is formed by changing -o to -a ; otherwise it remains the same for both genders: el Mpiz negro, la pizarra negra ; un lapiz verde, una casa verde; un libro azul, una corbata azul. 156.

  3. Adjectives of nationality ending in a

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