Describing Things: Adjective Agreement
Colours taught you the trick; now it becomes a system. Every Russian adjective copies its noun's gender and number — four endings, endlessly reused.
The Pattern You Know
| Gender | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | -ый | новый дом — a new house |
| feminine | -ая | новая книга — a new book |
| neuter | -ое | новое окно — a new window |
У меня есть старый телефон и новая книга.
I have an old phone and a new book.
Note: Each adjective checks its own noun: телефон is masculine, книга feminine.
The Plural
In the plural, one ending fits all genders: -ые.
новые дома, новые книги, новые окна
new houses, new books, new windows
Note: Plural is the easy case — no gender to check.
Meet the Regulars
| Russian | English | Opposite |
|---|---|---|
| новый | new | старый — old |
| хороший | good | плохой — bad |
| большой | big | маленький — small |
| красивый | beautiful | |
| интересный | interesting |
Spelling Flavours
Some masculine forms wear a different jacket — same agreement, new look:
| Variant | Why | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ой | when the ending is stressed | большой, плохой |
| -ий | after soft or hushing sounds | хороший, маленький, синий |
The feminine and neuter behave as expected: большая, большое; хорошая, хорошее.
Какая это книга?
What's this book like?
Очень интересная! Но старая.
Very interesting! But old.
Common Mistakes
- One ending for everything. Новый машина instantly jars — scan the noun, match the ending.
- Trusting -ой to be feminine. Большой is masculine; the -ой is just stress. The feminine is большая.
- Overthinking хороший. After ш you write и, not ы — the same spelling rule as книги.
What You Can Do Now
You can describe anything — things, places, people — in full, correct sentences: Это очень интересная книга. From here, every adjective you meet slots into a pattern you already own.