LES ADJECTIFS
A L E X I S ST R AU S S & JAVO N O R A N G E
FRANÇAIS BI
PERIOD 1
WHAT WE SHOULD ALREADY KNOW ABOUT FRENCH
ADJECTIVES…
French adjectives change in order to agree with the gender and
number of the noun(s) that they modify, meaning there can be up
to four forms of a given adjective
 Masculine singular
 Feminine singular
 Masculine plural
 Feminine plural
In English, adjectives are placed before the noun, while
most French adjectives follow the noun they modify
Example:
Un livre vert. vs. A green book.
ADJECTIVES BEFORE THE NOUN (ANTÉPOSÉ)
Certain adjectives are placed before the noun, some
which you can memorize with the acronym "BANGS”
Beauty: beau/belle and joli(e)
-Age: vieux/vieille and nouveau
-Numbers
-Good : bon/bonne (not mauvais)
-Size: petit(e) and grand
-
PLACEMENT OF ADJECTIVE DEPENDS ON MEANING!
Some adjectives have both a figurative and literal
meaning and can be placed on either side of the noun
When the adjective is figurative, it goes BEFORE the
noun
When the adjective is literal, it goes AFTER the noun
EXAMPLES
AGREEMENT WITH ADJECTIVES
French adjectives change to agree in gender and number
with the nouns that they modify, which means there
can be up to four forms of each adjective.
The different forms for adjectives depend mostly on the
final letter(s) of the default form of the adjective,
which is the masculine singular.
Most French adjectives add E for feminine and S for
plural.
This rule applies to adjectives that end in most
consonants as well as all vowels except the
unaccented E.
It also includes all regular and most irregular present
participles and past participles
EXAMPLES
Adjective: amusant
 Masculine singular amusant
Feminine singular amusante
Masculine plural amusants
 Feminine plural amusantes
When the masculine singular adjective ends in an
unaccented E, there is no difference between the
masculine and feminine forms
Example:
 Adjective: rouge (red)
 Masculine singular rouge
 Feminine singular rouge
 Masculine plural rouges
 Feminine plural rouges
When the default form of the adjective ends in S or X, there is no
difference between the masculine singular and plural forms:
Example:
Adjective: gris
Masculine singular gris
Feminine singular grise
Masculine plural gris
Feminine plural grises
IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES
Adjectives that end in a vowel plus L or N usually become feminine by doubling the
consonant before adding E.
• Ending: el > elle Adjective: personnel
Masculine singular personnel
Feminine singular personnelle
Adjectives that end in er or et need a grave accent
• Ending: er > ère Adjective: cher
Masculine singular cher
Feminine singular chère
Other final letters lead to very irregular feminine endings
• C  CHE (blanc to blanche)
EUX  EUSE (heureux  heureuse)
ORDINAL (ADJECTIFS ORDINAUX)
Ordinal: adjectives which give relative numeric information,
indicating the order or sequence of things: first, second, third,
etc. EX. Sept  septième
Vingt et un vingt et unième
Excluding: première, deuxième /seconde, cinq  cinquième (u is
added), and neuf neuvième ( v is added)
Agree with number and gender of noun
MINI QUIZ!!!
un _____ espoir
a) fou
b) fous
c) folles
d) fol
les _____ ordinateurs
a) nouveau
b) nouvels
c) nouvelles
d) nouveaux
ANSWERS
un _____ espoir
a) fou
b) fous
c) folles
d) fol
les _____ ordinateurs
a) nouveau
b) nouvels
c) nouvelles
d) nouveaux
MINI QUIZ PT.2
40th in French is
a) Quarantième
b) Quarantuième
5th in French is
a) Cinqième
b) Cinquième
ANSWERS
40th in French is
a) Quarantième
b) Quarantuième
5th in French is
a) Cinqième
b)
Cinquième