Adjectives
French adjectives agree in gender and number with
the noun they describe. This means that the exact
shape of the adjective will change, depending on
whether the noun is masculine or feminine
(gender) and singular or plural (number). So, in
theory, there are up to four different shapes for
each adjective, e.g.:
masc sing fem sing masc pl fem pl
petit petite petits petites
The feminine form of an adjective is often created by adding an ‘e’ to the
masculine form:
grand – grande allemand – allemande
The plural form is most often formed by simply adding an –s to the masculine
or feminine form:
grands-grandes allemands – allemandes
A number of masculine adjectives already end in an –e. In these cases, the
feminine form remains the same. This also means the two plurals will look the
same:
masc sing fem sing masc pl fem pl
calme calme calmes calmes
Here are a few examples of adjectives ending in –e:
calme responsable jeune
tranquille riche même
facile pauvre autre
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Fill in the feminine forms of the following adjectives using the rules above:
1. Il est fatigué. Elle est …………………………
2. Le pull est gris. La robe est …………………………
3. Ce camion est japonais. Cette voiture est …………………………
4. Ce roman est mauvais. Cette nouvelle est ……………………….
5. C’est un film français. C’est une émission …………………………
There are a few other regular patterns of change between masculine and
feminine adjectives:
bon – bonne affreux – affreuse neuf - neuve
ancien - ancienne heureux - heureuse cher – chère
gentil – gentille sportif – sportive dernier - dernière
masc sing fem sing masc pl fem pl
gentil gentille gentils gentilles
Some adjectives are simply irregular, and need to be learnt by heart. Below are
some key examples:
blanc – blanche long – longue
faux – fausse public - publique
fou – folle sec - sèche
frais – fraîche roux - rousse
Importantly, there is a third variant to learn for a few in this category: the form
they take when they precede a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel.
These are more closely linked to the feminine form, and it may be easier to
remember them in this way:
© Copyright Rocque French, 2007-2013. All rights reserved.
Masc sing Masc sing Feminine
before vowel
fou fol folle
vieux vieil vieille
nouveau nouvel nouvelle
beau bel belle
Examples:
Son nouvel emploi est ennuyeux – her new job is boring
Ce bel homme est son cousin – this handsome man is her cousin
Ce vieil edifice appartenait à un prince – this old building belonged to a prince.
Your turn! Fill out the feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural
forms of the following adjectives. If you are unsure of the feminine form, use a
dictionary to check the pattern – the feminine form is listed after the
masculine entry. For instance: italien, -enne, allemand, -e
For the irregular adjectives, the masculine plural is formed by adding ‘s’ to the
masculine singular. You need to look up the feminine singular form (given
above) and add an ‘s’ to this for the feminine plural. Make sure you know what
all of the words mean and note this.
masc sing fem sing masc pl fem pl
Il est… Elle est…. Ils sont… Elles sont…
grand
riche
séparé
blanc
fatigué
bon
naïf
fou
fier
sec
© Copyright Rocque French, 2007-2013. All rights reserved.
Position
In English, adjectives tend to go before the noun they describe (my new house,
my old grandmother etc).
In French, they almost all go after the noun (les plats italiens, les chaussures noires, la
langue française).
There is a small group of adjectives, however, that normally precede the noun.
These adjectives may be categorized as adjectives of Beauty, Age, Numbers
Goodness, and Size (BANGS) (!)
Beauty Age Numbers Goodness Size
joli (jolie), jeune, young premier mauvais grand
pretty (première), (mauvaise), (grande), tall,
nouveau first bad big
beau (belle), (nouvelle),
beautiful new deuxième, bon (bonne), petit (petite),
second good little
vieux (vieille),
old troisième, gros (grosse),
third big, fat
dernier long (longue),
(dernière), last long
court (courte),
short
un petit garçon – a little boy
un vieil arbre – an old tree
un nouveau gazon – a new lawn
un beau jour d’été – a beautiful summer day
© Copyright Rocque French, 2007-2013. All rights reserved.
Insert the correct form of the given adjectives into the correct place in these
sentences. The noun is given in italics:
1. J’ai fait un voyage (long) …………………………………………………….
2. C’est la fois que je t’écris (dernier) ………………………………………
3. Amanda est une fille (joli) ………………………………………………….
4. C’est une faute (petit) …………………………………………………….
Finally……
Some adjectives can be used either before or after the noun – however their
meaning varies according to their position:
un ancien élève – a former student une ville ancienne – an ancient city
un cher ami – a dear friend un bijou cher – an expensive jewel
ma propre voiture – my own car ma voiture propre – my clean car
Translate the following:
1. A former colleague (le collègue)………………………………………
2. My dear wife …………………………………………………….
3. A clean house …………………………………………………….
© Copyright Rocque French, 2007-2013. All rights reserved.
