something or someone. They are formed from: • Nouns: la tradition – traditionnel(le) • Present participles: vivant – vivant(e) • Past participles: fumé – fumé(e) In French, adjectives have to agree with the noun that it is describing, whether it is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.
Here are the general endings for adjectives:
Masculine Feminine Singular - E Plural S ES
Ma mère a les cheveux blonds.
Elle a des amies françaises. However, adjectives which already end in E doesn’t need another one in the feminine but an S still needs to be added for plurals. Une amie timide Des cousins timides For adjectives that end in a single consonant, double the consonant and add E: Masculine Feminine EL culturel culturelle IL gentil gentille AS gras grasse ET muet muette EN ancien ancienne Some adjectives have their own patterns: • ER changes to ÈRE Premier/première • X changes to SE Heureux/heureuse - Exceptions: Faux/fausse • EUR changes to EUSE Menteur/menteuse - Exceptions: Meilleur, extérieur, intérieur (just add an E) • F changes to VE Sportif/sportive • C changes to CHE or QUE Blanc/blanche Public/publique • Adjectives that end in X don’t require an S in the plural. Mes parents heureux • Adjectives ending in AL or EAU change to AUX in the plural. Beau/beaux International/internationaux Here are some examples of adjectives which don’t change whether they are masculine, feminine, singular or plural: • Marron • Sympa • Orange • Super • This also applies to any compound colours: Une robe vert clair Negative adjectives • Some adjectives become negative using a prefix: - (in)croyable - (im)possible - (ir)réel - (mé)content - (mal)honnête • Some adjectives become negative by placing the words PAS TRÈS or PEU: Peu amusant Pas très intéressant Some adjectives have their own patterns whether they are masculine, feminine, singular or plural: Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Singular singular Plural plural beau belle beaux belles nouveau nouvelle nouveaux nouvelles long longue longs longues bon bonne bons bonnes gros grosse gros grosses vieux vielle vieux vielles Beau, nouveau, and vieux become bel, nouvel and vieil before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or a silent H. Position of adjectives • Most adjectives go after the noun Les cheveux blonds • Some adjectives go before the noun Les nouvelles technologies Position of adjectives The following adjectives can go before and after the noun but their meaning is different depending on the position of the adjective: Adjective Meaning before the noun Meaning after the noun grand tall great ancien Previous/former old cher dear expensive propre own clean brave decent brave
Son ancien mari/une femme ancienne
• When there are several adjectives describing one noun, all adjectives are in their normal places Les beaux yeux bleus • If there are two adjectives after the noun, they are linked with ET Un maillot de foot bleu et blanc • When an adjective describes two or more nouns which are a mixture of masculine and feminine nouns, the adjective takes on the masculine plural form Un stylo et une gomme bleus.