The noun is the nucleus of the noun phrase, therefore, it is essential that the grammatical classes, which are related to it, are “combining”. But in what respects should this happen? What are the classes of words that must inflect to agree on the noun?
Let's start by understanding the concept of agreement. According to Houaiss, it is to come to an agreement, that is, to be in harmony. Therefore, if the agreement is nominal, it will be the agreement, or adequacy, in gender and number, of the noun, nucleus of the noun phrase, with the article, the numeral, the adjective and the pronoun. See the example:
The first candidates arrived for the interview.
The first candidates arrived for the interview.
In the examples above, the general rule of nominal agreement was practiced, that is, the determinants of the noun are in harmony with it. So when the noun changed, the article and numeral had to fit.
See how easy the general rule of nominal agreement is? Just remember that the noun will define the gender and number of the article, the numeral, the pronoun and the adjective.
By Mayra Pavan
Graduated in Letters
