Adjectives · French grammar A1

Describing people and things: the agreement of adjectives#

A French adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun or pronoun it describes.

Ma mère est très gentille.My mother is very kind.
Mes valises sont lourdes.My suitcases are heavy.
Ses cousins sont espagnols.His cousins are Spanish.
Ma grand-mère est très heureuse ici.My grandmother is very happy here.

Formation

The masculine singular is the dictionary form.
The feminine is usually formed by adding -e: grand → grande, fatigué → fatiguée.
The plural is formed by adding -s to the masculine or the feminine: grands, grandes.
Some endings change more in the feminine:

Masculine	Feminine	Examples
-eux	-euse	heureux → heureuse, délicieux → délicieuse
-ien	-ienne	italien → italienne
-on	-onne	bon → bonne
-er	-ère	cher → chère
irregular		gentil → gentille, blanc → blanche, beau → belle, nouveau → nouvelle, vieux → vieille

In the feminine, a silent final consonant is heard: petit /pəti/, petite /pətit/.

Special cases

An adjective that already ends in -e does not change in the feminine: triste, jeune.
An adjective that ends in -s or -x does not change in the masculine plural: français, heureux.
The masculine plural of beau and nouveau is formed with -x: beaux, nouveaux.
An adjective describing nouns of both genders is in the masculine plural: Paul et Julie sont contents. (“Paul and Julie are happy.”)

Difference from English

English adjectives do not change. In French, an adjective agrees with its noun: grand, grande, grands, grandes.
The agreement depends on the grammatical gender of the noun, not on the speaker. A man also says Ma chambre est petite. (“My room is small.”)
Adjectives of nationality are written without a capital letter in French: “an English student” is une étudiante anglaise.

Common mistakes

~~Ma sœur est fatigué.~~ → Ma sœur est fatiguée.The adjective agrees with a feminine subject.
~~des chemises blanc~~ → des chemises blanchesThe adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun.

Remember

Add -e to the adjective for a feminine noun: une petite maison.
Add -s to the adjective for a plural noun: des amis contents.
Learn the special feminines with the adjective: bon, bonne; beau, belle.

You now know how to make an adjective agree with its noun: grand, grande, grands, grandes.

Practise

“Adjectives: agreement, position, très and trop”, The feminine of adjectives “Adjectives: agreement, position, très and trop”, The plural of adjectives

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Describing a noun: the place of the adjective, before or after the noun#

Most French adjectives are placed after the noun, but a few short and common ones are placed before it.

Nous avons un petit jardin.We have a small garden.
Elle porte une jupe noire.She is wearing a black skirt.
C’est un bon restaurant chinois.It is a good Chinese restaurant.

Formation

Most adjectives are placed after the noun, among them colours and nationalities: une robe rouge, un film américain.
A few short and very common adjectives are placed before the noun: grand, petit, bon, mauvais, beau, nouveau, vieux, jeune.
When a noun has an adjective of each kind, each is in its usual place: une petite voiture blanche.
In the plural, des is usually replaced by de before an adjective: de beaux jardins.

Before a vowel

Before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel, beau, nouveau and vieux become bel, nouvel and vieil.
A noun beginning with a mute h is treated like one beginning with a vowel: un vieil homme.

Difference from English

In English, an adjective usually comes before the noun: “an American film”. In French, most adjectives come after it: un film américain.

Common mistakes

~~un rouge manteau~~ → un manteau rougeColours are placed after the noun.
~~un beau arbre~~ → un bel arbreBefore a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel, bel is used.

Remember

Put most adjectives after the noun: une jupe noire.
Put grand, petit, bon, beau and a few others before the noun: un petit jardin.
Use bel, nouvel and vieil before a masculine singular noun beginning with a vowel: un bel arbre.

You now know where to place an adjective: un film américain, une petite voiture.

Practise

“Adjectives: agreement, position, très and trop”, Where the adjective goes

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Saying very, too or a bit: très, trop, un peu#

Très (“very”), trop (“too”) and un peu (“a bit”) are placed before an adjective to show its degree.

Ce film est très intéressant.This film is very interesting.
Le café est trop chaud !The coffee is too hot!
Je suis un peu fatigué ce matin.I am a bit tired this morning.

Formation

Très (“very”), trop (“too”) and un peu (“a bit”) are placed before an adjective or an adverb: trop tard.
Très, trop and un peu do not change, but the adjective still agrees with its noun: un peu fatiguée.

Use

Très expresses a high degree: très grand.
Trop expresses an excess, more than is wanted: trop tard.
In the negative, très, trop and un peu come after pas: Ce n’est pas trop difficile. (“It isn’t too difficult.”)

Common mistakes

~~Il est beaucoup gentil.~~ → Il est très gentil.Beaucoup modifies a verb (il travaille beaucoup); before an adjective, très is used.
~~Elle est un peu fatigué.~~ → Elle est un peu fatiguée.After un peu, the adjective still agrees with the subject: elle is feminine.

Remember

Use très for “very”: très grand.
Use trop for “too”, more than you want: trop chaud.
Use un peu for “a bit”: un peu fatigué.
Use très, never beaucoup, before an adjective: très gentil.

You now know how to say very, too or a bit: très grand, trop cher, un peu fatigué.

In short

Point	Rule	Example
feminine	+ -e	grand → grande
plural	+ -s	grandes; français, heureux unchanged
place	usually after the noun; a few before	une table verte, une petite table
degree	très, trop, un peu + adjective	trop cher

Practise

“Adjectives: agreement, position, très and trop”, très, trop, un peu

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