Quote Originally Posted by alexB
It might be easier if you switched to the past tense where the imaginary “есть” would turn into a quite real and gender dependable была, был, было, which would have to agree, as well as the following adjective in its short form with the subject of the sentence.
This is a great idea. I think that's what I'll be doing (imagining it in the past tense before writing in the present) from now on, until I finally internalize it. You folks are all so helpful, I appreciate it!