Masculine/Feminine ending errors

Question

I was wondering if somebody were to make a mistake in the feminine/masculine noun/adjective endings when referring to a native Spanish speaker, would they see it as an insult or just bad grammar? (I don't mean if they thought someone was just learning, I mean between native speakers.) And, would any one purposely change them if they were trying to offend someone? Not that I would

Answer 1

I suppose we would not even notice or take it as such.

We often start a sentence with something...then suddenly change the noun to something else and then the gender or number agreement won't fit any more...not a big deal for us

Even the best speakers often say things like this:

Hubo mucha gente en la fiesta. Estaban muy contentos de celebrar el Año Nuevo.

Answer 2

As a none native speaker I make lots of these errors and nobody seems to care. They either correct me or ignore it. Don't sweat the small stuff all the time. Just talk, and talk and talk and when someone laughs at you laugh with them.

Answer 3

Personally, noun and adjective endings and agreements are one of those little things that, in conversation, I have to focus on. I speak relatively rapido, for a non-fluent speaker, but I have to focus on these little things like agreement that after an hour or so of conversation I am SO exhausted. No one is insulted by my Spanish; people just laugh when I make a funny mistake. But, between native speakers? I really don't think native speakers make these kinds of errors very often.

no, it is not a usual mistake, unless you change the noun or something like I said before. - 00494d19, Dec 29, 2011

would someone change it to serve intentionally as an insult? like purposefully referring to a man using feminine endings? - Himself12794, Dec 29, 2011

not that I would ever want to offend someone, but only out of curiosity :) - Himself12794, Dec 29, 2011

Answer 4

If you listen to a non native speaking English they will often confuse him/her, his/hers. It isn't a problem really, we know what they mean and they are successfully communicating. I would see gender agreement in Spanish in the same way. Something I strive to get right, but if I get it wrong it isn't a real problem, especially compared to all my other mistakes

Answer 5

What I think is fun is when the difference between an -a and an -o change the whole meaning of the word. Can't think of any examples right off the bat but you know what I mean. oh like derecho derecha

Confundieno derecho y deracha puede causar un accidente. - gringojrf, Dec 29, 2011