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An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. All French adjectives agree in number (singular or
plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the nouns they describe. In fact, in French, all
words in a sentence must agree with each other: If, for example, the noun or pronoun is
singular, its verb and any adjectives describing it must also be singular. If the noun is feminine,
the adjective describing it must also be feminine.
Unlike English, most French adjectives are placed after the nouns they modify. A few
adjectives, however, precede the noun. In addition, when you use more than one adjective to
describe a noun, you must follow placement rules. Most adjectives add e to the masculine
singular form to get the feminine singular. Be careful when you see masculine adjectives
ending in ‐e, ‐eux, ‐f, and ‐ er, because for those, you do not simply add e.
SL ADJECTIVE MEANING MASCULINE FEMININE MAS.PLURAL FEM.PLURAL MAS.VOWEL
NO
1 BEAU BEAUTIFUL BEAU BELLE BEAUX BELLES BEL
2 JOLI PRETTY JOLI JOLIE JOLIS JOLIES -
3 VIEUX OLD VIEUX VIEILLE VIEUX VIEILLES VIEIL
4 NOUVEAU NEW NOUVEAU NOUVELLE NOUVEAUX NOUVELLES NOUVEL
5 JEUNE YOUNG JEUNE JEUNE JEUNES JEUNES -
6 BON GOOD BON BONNE BONS BONNES
7 MAUVAIS BAD MAUVAIS MAUVAISE MAUVAIS MAUVAISES
8 GROS FAT GROS GROSSE GROS GROSSES
9 LONG LONG LONG LONGUE LONGS LONGUES
Masculine adjectives that end in a silent e
Singular adjectives that end in a silent e do not change in the feminine. Masculine and
feminine forms are spelled and pronounced in the same manner, as follows:
aimable (kind, pleasant)
célèbre (famous)
comique (comical)
confortable (comfortable)
drôle (funny)
facile (easy)
faible (weak)
formidable (great)
honnête (honest)
magnifique (magnificent)
maigre (thin)
malade (sick)
mince (thin)
moderne (modern)
pauvre (poor)
proper (clean)
sale (dirty)
sincere (sincere)
splendide (splendid)
sympathique (nice)
triste (sad)
vide (empty)
Masculine adjectives that end in er
Masculine singular adjectives ending in ‐ er form the feminine by changing ‐ er to ‐èreere, as
shown in Table 5.
Table 5
Cher – chère
Premier – première
Dernier – dernière
Masculine adjectives that end in consonants
Some masculine singular adjectives form the feminine by doubling the final consonant before
the ‐ e ending. See Table 6.
The French use special forms of beau (bel), nouveau (nouvel), and vieux (vieil)before masculine
nouns beginning with a vowel or vowel sound. If, however, the adjective comes after the
noun, the regular masculine form is used:
un bel arbre (a beautiful tree); L'arbre est beau. (The tree is beautiful.)
un nouvel appartement (a new apartment); L'appartement est nouveau. (The apartment
is new.)
un vieil avion (an old airplane); L'avion est vieux. (The airplane is old.)
Les adjectifs possessifs
1. The possessive adjective agrees with the noun it describes in gender (Masculine or
feminine) and in number (singular or plural)
Eg: These are his cars. Ce sont ses voitures.
Mark, c’est ta mère.
2. The adjective does not depend on the subject but on the thing/person (possessed).
Eg: He lives in his house. Il habite dans sa maison.
3. For any feminine noun starting with a vowel, the masculine possessive adjective is used.
(Mon, ton, son). Eg: My friend (girl): mon amie
His/her school (f): son école.
Remplissez les blancs avec les adjectifs possessifs.
1. C’est _________ chien ? Oui, c’est mon chien.
2. C’est la maison de Pierre. ___________ maison est grande.
3. _________ sœur (sister) s’appelle Maria. (her)
4. __________ (your) cousines sont jolies.
5. Pierre et Paul, c’est votre voiture? Oui, c’est ___________ voiture.
6. _________ parents sont pilotes. (their)
7. _________ école est grande. (our)
8. _______ (your) mère est institutrice?
9. Je joue avec __________ amis.
10. Tu as ma gomme ? Non, Je n’ai pas __________ gomme.
Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) are words used in place of articles to
indicate a specific noun. In French, they must agree in gender and number with the
noun they modify.
Ce is the masculine singular demonstrative adjective:
J'aime ce livre. - I like this (that) book.
Ce becomes cet in front of a masculine noun that begins with a vowel or mute h
Cet homme est sympa.