What are French adjectives?
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Adjectives in French are quite different from
English adjectives.
Unlike in English, French adjectives agree with the noun’s gender and number.
What is “agreeing” in French grammar?
When we say that an adjective agrees with the noun’s gender and number, it means that it
will take on the same gender and the same number (singular or plural) as the noun that it is
describing. For example:
1. Une voiture bleue
2. Des voitures bleues
AGREEING WITH GENDER
Adding “-e” to the adjective
Gender: Masculine or Feminine. Masculin ou féminin in French. The general rule is to add an
“-e ” to the masculine adjective.
Exemple:
Masculine
Feminine
Julien est grand et intelligent.*
Ce film est joli.
Il est marié
Un véhicule rouge**
Joanna est grande et intelligente.
Cette histoire est jolie.
Elle est mariée
Une voiture rouge
New - neuf/nouveau
neuve/nouvelle
EXCEPTIONS Double consonant Violet-violette
Mignon - mignonne (cute)
Adjectives ending in “-x “
The masculine adjectives ending in “-x “ become “-se “ in the feminine.
Masculine
Feminine
courageux
curieux
sérieux
courageuse
curieuse
Sérieuse
AGREEING WITH NUMBER
The general rule is to add an “-s ” to the
singular form of the adjective.
Ex- bleu - bleus (m.pl)
Bleues (f.pl)
Also, adjectives ending in –al will have their
(masculine) plural forms ending in –aux:
Amical -> amicaux
Radical - radicaux
National - nationaux
Masculine singular
Default adjective :
Grand
Feminine singular
Add an “e” to
masculine form :
Grande
Masculine plural
Add an “s” to
masculine form :
Grands
Feminine plural
Add “s” to feminine
form :
Grandes
Placement of French adjectives
As a general rule, adjectives in French will be placed after the noun.
Une maison jaune. - un livre jaune
Une voiture bleue.
Un homme perplexe.
In some cases, the adjectives will be placed before the noun.
Une belle maison.
Une petite voiture.
BEFORE THE NOUN – BAGS
So, what is Bags? It is an abbreviation that can help you to remember the adjectives that are
placed before the noun.
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Beauty
Age
Goodness
Size
Beauty
Beau/(BEL)belle/beaux/belles
Vieux/vieille/vieux/vieilles
Age
Ancien/ancienne/anciens/anciennes
Nouveau/nouvelle/nouveaux/nouvelles
Goodness
Bon/bonne/bons/bonnes
Mauvais/mauvaises/mauvais/mauvaises
Size
Petit/petite/petits/petites
Grand/grande/grands/grandes
Gros/grosse/gros/grosses
COLORS