Adjectives In French - Making Adjectives Agree
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives tells us more about a noun.
Mary is tall.
That house is big.
In French, adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe.
Un chat noir
A black cat
Une chaise noire
A black chair
Deux chats noirs
Two black cats
Making adjectives agree
Making adjectives feminine
The default form of adjectives is the masculine form. To make most adjectives feminine, add an -e to the masculine form.
Adjectives that adds an -e
Most adjectives fall under this category.
Un homme intelligent An intelligent man
Une fille intelligente An intelligent girl
| Masculine | Feminine | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Petit | petite | small,little |
| Joli. | jolie | pretty |
| Grand | Grande | big, tall |
| Gris | grise | grey |
| Poli polie | polite | |
| Bleu | bleue | blue |
| Noir | noire | black |
Adjectives that already ends in -e
When a masculine adjective already ends in -e, it doesn't add another -e in the feminine form.
| Masculine | feminine | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Stupide | stupide | stupid |
| Jaune | jaune | yellow |
| Formidable | formidable | wonderful |
| Maigre | maigre | thin |
| Sage | sage | wise |
| Triste | triste | sad |
| Pauvre | pauvre | poor |
Adjectives that double the final consonant before adding an e
Some adjectives double their last consonant before adding an -e to arrive at the feminine form.
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bon | bonne | good |
| Cruel | cruelle | cruel |
| Nul | nulle | useless |
| Net | nette | clean |
| Gentil | gentille | nice,charming |
| Muet | muette | mute |
Adjectives that change from ending in -f to -ive.
Masculine adjectives ending in -f ends in -ive in the feminine form.
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Neuf | neuve | new |
| Actif | active | active |
Adjectives that change from ending in -eux to -euse
Masculine adjectives ending in _-eux end in -euse in the feminine form.
| Masculine | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ennuyeux | ennuyeuse | boring,tedious |
| Heureux | heureuse | happy |
| Dangereux | dangereuse | dangerous |
Adjectives that are more irregular
Common adjectives with irregular patterns.
| Masculine | feminine | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Blanc | blanche | white |
| Faux | fausse | false, wrong |
| Long | Longue | long |
| Doux | douce | soft |
| Sec | sèche | dry, dried |
| Favori | favorite | favourite |
| Fraîs | fraîche | fresh,cool,chilly |
Adjectives that have double masculine forms with irregular feminine forms
Some French adjectives have extra masculine forms. These forms are used in front of vowels and silent -h.
| Masculine | masculine(with a vowel/silent h) | feminine | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beau | bel | belle | beautiful, handsome |
| Nouveau | nouvel | nouvelle | new |
| Vieux | vieil | vielle | old |
| Fou | fol | folle | mad |
Notre nouvelle maison
Our new house
Notre nouvel hotel
Our new hotel
Making adjectives plural
In French adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns/pronoun they modify. To make most adjectives plural,add an -s to the masculine or feminine singular form.
Adjectives that add an -s
|Singular| plural |meaning|
|--------|---------|
|Grand | grands | big, tall|
|Grande | grandes | big, tall|
|Lourde | lourdes| heavy|
Adjectives that ends in -s or -x
If the masculine singular form already ends in -s or -x, it doesn't add another -s.
| Singular | plural | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dangereux | dangereux | dangerous |
| Heureux | heureux | happy |
| Ennuyeux | ennuyeux | boring,tedious |
Adjectives that ends in -eau or -al
If the masculine singular form ends in -eau or -al, the masculine plural ends in -eaux or -aux.
| Singular | plural | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Nouveau | nouveaux | new |
| Principal | principaux | main. |
