El niño alto y la niña baja comen una manzana.

Questions & Answers about El niño alto y la niña baja comen una manzana.

Why do the adjectives come after the nouns, like niño alto instead of alto niño?
In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives go after the noun they describe. So, instead of saying "tall boy" like in English, you say "boy tall" (niño alto) and "girl short" (niña baja).
Why is it alto for the boy but baja for the girl?
Adjectives must match the gender (masculine or feminine) of the noun they describe. Because niño (boy) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine adjective alto. Because niña (girl) is feminine, the adjective changes its ending to match, becoming baja.
Why is the verb comen used here?
The verb comen is the "they" form of comer (to eat). Even though niño and niña are singular on their own, together they make a plural group ("they"). Whenever you have a compound subject like this, you use the plural form of the verb.
Why does the sentence use una before manzana?
Manzana (apple) is a feminine noun. In Spanish, words like "a" or "an" must also match the gender of the noun. Therefore, we use the feminine word una instead of the masculine un.

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