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La niña tiene una mano pequeña.

La niña tiene una mano pequeña.
The girl has a small hand.
From Lesson 9:Noun gender exceptions·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about La niña tiene una mano pequeña.

Wait, why is it una mano? Doesn't the word mano end in an 'o'?
Yes, it does, but mano is a very common exception to the rule! Even though it ends in 'o', it is a feminine word. Because it is feminine, we must use the feminine word for 'a' (una) instead of the masculine one (un).
Does mano become masculine if a boy has a small hand?
No, grammatical gender belongs to the word itself, not the person who owns the object. The word mano is always feminine. Even if a boy has a small hand (el niño tiene una mano pequeña), the words una, mano, and pequeña stay exactly the same!
Does pequeña end in an 'a' because of the girl (la niña) or the hand (la mano)?
It is because of the hand! The adjective pequeña describes the hand, so it has to match the hand's gender. Since mano is feminine, any adjective describing it must also be feminine, which is why we use pequeña instead of pequeño.
Why is the order mano pequeña instead of pequeña mano?
In English, we put the describing word before the noun ("small hand"). In Spanish, descriptive adjectives almost always go after the noun they describe. So, you literally say "hand small" (mano pequeña).

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