Adjective Agreement
பெயரடை ஒத்திசைவு
Spanish adjectives change their ending to match the gender and number of the noun they describe — a habit Tamil doesn't have at all, since Tamil adjectives never change form regardless of what they modify.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
-o/-a adjectives change for gender
el niño alto (tall boy) / la niña alta (tall girl)
தமிழில் பெயரடை மாறாது: உயரமான பையன் / உயரமான பெண்
Adjectives ending in -o switch to -a to agree with a feminine noun — alto becomes alta. Tamil never touches the adjective itself no matter what it describes (உயரமான stays உயரமான for both பையன் and பெண்), so remembering to actually change the adjective's ending is the new habit to build here.
Plural nouns need plural adjectives too
los niños altos / las niñas altas
தமிழில் பெயரடை பன்மையில் மாறாது
Adjectives also add -s or -es to match a plural noun, on top of matching its gender — so a single adjective can take four different forms (alto/alta/altos/altas) depending on what it's paired with. Tamil's உயரமான stays exactly the same word whether describing one person or many.
Most descriptive adjectives come after the noun
un libro interesante (an interesting book — adjective after)
ஒரு சுவாரஸ்யமான புத்தகம் (adjective before)
Tamil, like English, places descriptive adjectives before the noun. Spanish usually reverses that order for descriptive adjectives — un libro interesante, not un interesante libro — though a handful of common adjectives (like bueno, malo, gran) can go before the noun with a slightly different nuance. Default to putting the adjective after the noun unless you've specifically learned an exception.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| alto / alta | AHL-toh / AHL-tah | உயரமானuyaramāṉa | tall |
| bajo / baja | BAH-hoh / BAH-hah | குட்டையானkuṭṭaiyāṉa | short |
| grande | GRAHN-deh | பெரியperiya | big |
| pequeño / pequeña | peh-KEH-nyoh / peh-KEH-nyah | சிறியsiṟiya | small |
| bonito / bonita | boh-NEE-toh / boh-NEE-tah | அழகானaḻagāṉa | pretty |
| interesante | een-teh-reh-SAHN-teh | சுவாரஸ்யமானsuvārasyamāṉa | interesting |