quiz question

Question

In the quiz I got mi madre tine dos primos and I put Itanianas but the correct answer was Italianos why is this? I thought since they are talking about a woman it would be a feminine. Sorry if this sounds rly stupid just really stumped me.

Silvia Píriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Olivia C.
That's not a stupid question at all, it's a very common point of confusion when learning Spanish!
In Mi madre tiene dos primos italianos, the adjective italianos agrees with primos, not with mi madre. Therefore the adjective must be italianos (masculine plural).
Compare:
Mi madre tiene dos primos italianos. (My mother has two Italian male cousins.)
Mi madre tiene dos primas italianas. (My mother has two Italian female cousins.)
Remember that adjectives agree with the noun they describe, not necessarily with the subject of the sentence. In this example, italianos describes primos, so it takes the masculine plural form.
I hope that helps clarify things!
Silvia