French Grammar: Adjective Agreement

Posted by LEAF Architect on Saturday, November 24, 2012 · Leave a Comment

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French Grammar: Adjective Agreement
la grammaire française: l’accord adjectif

Making nouns (les substantifs) and adjectives (les adjectifs) match each other in number and gender is extremely important when learning French. Matching nouns and adjectives in French is called adjective agreement (l’accord adjectif). French is not like English! If you don’t watch grammatical number (le nombre) and gender (le genre), you won’t be understood by French-speaking people!

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Nouns (les substantifs) name people, places, and things!

Adjectives (les adjectifs) describe nouns!

In French, adjectives MUST match the noun they are describing in GENDER (masculine/feminine) and in NUMBER (singular/plural). In grammar terms, matching the correct form of adjectives to the nouns they describe is called adjective agreement.

GENDER OF ADJECTIVES (le genre des adjectifs) :

Most French adjectives form the feminine by adding -e to the end of the masculine form of the adjective:

vert / verte  : green
amusant / amusante : funny
 joli / jolie : pretty
 français / française : French
 obstiné / obstinée : stubborn

Adjectives that already end in silent -e in the masculine form do not change in the feminine form:

 jaune / jaune : yellow
 sincère / sincère  : sincere
bête / bête  : stupid / silly / foolish
timide / timide  : shy
sympathique / sympathique : nice

Masculine adjectives that end in -x form the feminine by changing the -x to -se :

ennuyeux / ennuyeuse : boring
 affreux / affreuse  : horrible
généreux / généreuse : generous
 studieux / studieuse  : studious
jaloux / jalouse : jealous

Masculine adjectives that end in -f form the feminine by changing the -f to -ve :

 sportif / sportive : athletic
 actif / active  : active
neuf / neuve  : new
bref / brève : brief

(*Note that there is also an accent grave over the first –e in the feminine form of this adjective)

Masculine adjectives that end in -er form the feminine by changing the -er to -ère :

 cher / chère : expensive
 étranger / étrangère : foreign

Many masculine adjectives that end in -el, -il, -eil, -n, -ien, and most that end in -et form the feminine by doubling the final consonant and then adding -e :

actuel / actuelle : real
 bon / bonne : good
 gentil / gentille  : kind / nice
pareil / pareille  : same / identical
égyptien / égyptienne  : Egyptian
cadet / cadette : younger / youngest

A few masculine adjectives that end in -s form the feminine by doubling the final -s and then adding -e :

 bas / basse  : low
épais / épaisse  : thick
gras / grasse  : greasy / fatty
gros / grosse : large / fat

The following adjectives have irregular feminine forms:

 blanc / blanche  : white
complet / complète  : complete
discret / discrète : discreet
 inquiet / inquiète : anxious / worried
 doux / douce  : gentle / soft
faux / fausse  : false
favori / favorie : favorite
 frais / fraîche : fresh
 franc / franche  : frank
long / longue  : long
public / publique : public
 roux / rousse : red haired
 secret / secrète : secret

Some adjectives have both an irregular feminine form as well as a special masculine form that is used before a vowel or silent ‘h’ :

beau (bel) / belle  : handsome / beautiful
fou (fol) / folle : crazy
 mou (mol) / molle  : soft
nouveau (nouvel) / nouvelle : new
 vieux (vieil) / vieille : old

NUMBER OF ADJECTIVES (le Nombre des Adjectifs) :

Most French adjectives are made plural by adding -s to the singular form of the adjective (either masculine or feminine):

  MASCULINE: noir / noirs : black
FEMININE: noire / noires : black

MASCULINE: intelligent / intelligents : intelligent
FEMININE: intelligente / intelligentes : intelligent

MASCULINE: bleu / bleus : blue
FEMININE: bleue / bleues : blue

MASCULINE: fatigué / fatigués : tired
FEMININE: fatiguée / fatiguées : tired

MASCULINE: poli / polis : polite
FEMININE: polie / polies : polite

MASCULINE: bon / bons : good
FEMININE: bonne / bonnes : good

MASCULINE: actif / actifs : active
FEMININE: active / actives : active

MASCULINE: cruel / cruels : cruel
FEMININE: cruelle / cruelles : cruel

Singular masculine adjectives that end in -s or -x do not change their form in the plural:

 MASCULINE: mauvais / mauvais : bad
FEMININE: mauvaise / mauvaises : bad

MASCULINE: jaloux / jaloux : jealous
FEMININE: jalouse / jalouses : jealous

For most singular masculine adjectives that end in -al, the -al becomes -aux in the plural masculine form:

 MASCULINE: national / nationaux : national
FEMININE: nationale / nationale : national

Masculine singular nouns that end in -eau are made plural by adding -x:

MASCULINE: beau / beaux : handsome
FEMININE: belle / belles : beautiful

MASCULINE: nouveau / nouveaux : new
FEMININE: nouvelle / nouvelles : new

The masculine singular adjective tout is irregular. It becomes tous in the masculine plural form:

MASCULINE: tout / tous : all
FEMININE: toute / toutes : all

An adjective that describes two or more nouns of different genders will take the masculine plural form:

 L’homme et la femme sont américains.
The man and the woman are American.

Most French adjectives are placed after the noun(s) they describe. Some French adjectives precede the noun(s) they describe. (See: French Grammar: Adjective Placement )