Essential French
Grammar – Adjectives
1. Agreement
In French, adjectives agree with the nouns they follow or precede, which means that their endings change depending on whether the people or things to which they refer are masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
Masculine and feminine forms
The feminine usually is formed by adding an –e to a masculine adjective. There are many exceptions to this rule, so it is best to check a dictionary to be sure.
These are the most common rules:
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| - e | No change. maigre>maigre – "skinny" faible>faible – "weak" |
| - é | Add an –e fatigué>fatiguée – "tired" menacé>menacée – "threatened" |
| - as, - el, - eil, - en, - et, - on | Double the last consonant + add an –e las/lasse – "tired" bon/bonne – "good" guilleret/guillerette – "cheerful" pareil/pareille – "same" Exceptions: inquiet>inquiète; complet>complète; concret>concrète |
| - at, - ot | Add an –e vieillot>vieillote – "antiquated" délicat>délicate – "delicate" |
| - in, - ain, - ein | Add an –e malin>maline – "cunning" hautain>hautaine – "arrogant" serein>sereine – "serene" |
| - gu | - guë Aigu> aiguë – "acute" Ambigu>ambiguë – "ambiguous" |
| - f | - ve veuf>veuve – "widowed" neuf>neuve – "new " |
| - eux | - euse heureux>heureuse – "glad" onéreux>onéreuse – "expensive " |
| - eur | - euse menteur>menteuse – "liar' serveur>serveuse – "waiter/waitress" |
A small group of comparative adjectives that end in –eur form the feminine with –e : meilleur>meilleure "best," supérieur>supérieure "superior" and mineur>mineure "minor".
Some very common adjectives have irregular feminine forms:
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| Sec – "dry" | Sèche |
| Frais – "fresh" | Fraiche |
| Long – "long" | Longue |
| Nul – "void" | Nulle |
| Turc – "Turkish" | Turque |
| Grec – "Greek" | Grecque |
| Favori – "favorite" | Favorite |
| Faux – "false" | Fausse |
| Roux – "red-haired" | Rousse |
| Doux – "sweet" | Douce |
| Blanc – "white" | Blanche |
Plural form
Generally, to form the plural form, an –s is simply added to the singular adjective, but this ending is rarely heard in spoken French. When an association is needed, as with les grands hommes "great men," the –s will be heard.
| adjectives ending in –au, - eu, - eau | form their plural with –x |
| adjectives ending in –s, - x, - z | no change |
| adjectives ending in –al | form their plural with - aux |
A small number of adjectives are invariable, which means that they never change. They are mostly color adjectives, like marron, turquoise or bleu marine.
2. Position
In English, adjectives precede the noun they refer to. In French, like in all Romance languages, this is the opposite. Adjectives usually follow the noun:
- un chat noir – "a black cat"
- une voiture rouge – "a red car"
The word et is added when more than one adjective is used.
- un ordinateur vieux et sale – "a dirty old computer"
However, there are exceptions to this rule, and some very common adjectives precede the noun: beau "handsome," bon "good," bref "short," gentil "nice," mauvais "bad," meilleur "better," petit "little," vieux "old," vrai "real," and dernier "last".
Some adjectives change meaning according to their position:
| Adjective | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ancien | Une ancienne maison – "a former house" | Une maison ancienne – "a very old house" |
| Brave | Un brave homme – "a decent man" | Un homme brave – "a brave man" |
| Cher | Un cher ami – "a dear friend" | Un livre cher – "an expensive book" |
| Grand | Un grand homme – "a great man" | Un homme grand – "a tall man" |
| Même | Le même jour – "the same day" | Le jour même – "this very day" |
| Pauvre | Une pauvre fille – "a poor girl" (pity her) | Une fille pauvre – "a poor girl" (not rich) |
| Propre | Tes propres mains – "your own hands" | Les mains propres – "clean hands" |
| Seul | Le seul cheval – "the only horse" | Une femme seule – "a lonely woman" |
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