Forming singular adjectives

The rules for the formation of singular adjectives in French are:

• The feminine singular form of most adjectives is formed by adding an -e to the masculine singular form. If the masculine singular form ends in an unpronounced consonant, that consonant is pronounced in the feminine form:

  Il est intelligent. Elle est intelligente.

• Masculine singular adjectives that end in a silent -e do not change in the feminine. Both forms are spelled and pronounced in the same manner:

  Il est sincère. Elle est sincère.

• If the masculine singular adjective ends in an -é, the feminine singular adjective adds another - e:

  Il est occupé. Elle est occupée.

• Masculine singular adjectives ending in -x form the feminine by changing - x to - se:

  Il est curieux. Elle est curieuse.

• Masculine singular adjectives ending in -f form the feminine by changing -f to -ve:

  Il est actif. Elle est active.

• Masculine singular adjectives ending in -er form the feminine by changing -er to -ère:

  Il est fier (proud). Elle est fière.

• Some masculine singular adjectives form the feminine by doubling the final consonant before the -e ending:

  ancien (ancient, old) ancienne bas (low) basse bon (good) bonne cruel (cruel) cruelle européen (European) européenne gentil (nice, kind) gentille gros (fat, big) grosse sot (silly) sotte

• Some adjectives are irregular and follow no rules. They must be memorized:

  beau (beautiful) belle blanc (white) blanche complet (complete) complète doux (sweet, gentle) douce faux (false) fausse favori (favorite) favorite fou (crazy) folle frais (fresh) fraîche franc (frank) franche inquiet (worried) inquiète long (long) longue mou (soft) molle nouveau (new) nouvelle public (public) publique sec (dry) sèche secret (secret) secrète travailleur (hardworking) travailleuse vieux (old) vieille

The French use special forms of beau ( bel), fou ( fol), mou ( mol), 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 appartement (a beautiful apartment):

• L'appartement est beau. (The apartment is beautiful.)

Forming plural adjectives

The rules for the formation of plural adjectives in French are as follows:

• Adding -s to the singular of the masculine or feminine adjective forms the plural of most adjectives:

  Ils sont intelligents. Elles sont intelligentes.

• An adjective modifying two or more nouns of different genders uses the masculine plural:

  • Le garçon et la fille sont contents. (The boy and the girl are happy.)

• If a masculine singular adjective ends in -s or -x, the singular and plural are identical:

  Il est sérieux. Ils sont sérieux.

• Most masculine adjectives ending in -al change the -al to -aux in the plural:

  Il est loyal. Ils sont loyaux.

• Both masculine singular forms of beau ( bel), fou ( fol), mou ( mol), nouveau ( nouvel), and vieux ( vieil) have one and the same plural form:

  un beau monument de beaux monuments un bel hôtel de beaux hôtels

• The adjective tout (all) is irregular in the masculine plural:

  tout le sandwich tous les sandwiches

Placement of adjectives

Unlike in English, most adjectives in French follow the nouns they modify:

• une fille heureuse (a happy girl)

• un ciel bleu (a blue sky)

A few short, descriptive adjectives, usually expressing beauty, age, goodness, and size (you can remember this with the acronym BAGS), generally precede the nouns they modify:

• Beauty: beau (beautiful, handsome), joli (pretty)

• Age: nouveau (new), vieux (old), jeune (young)

• Goodness (or lack of it): bon (good), gentil (nice), mauvais (bad)

• Size: grand (large, big), petit (small, little), court (short), long (long), gros (fat , thick), large (wide)

Other common adjectives that precede the noun (but do not fall into the BAGS categories) include the following:

• autre (other)

• chaque (each, every)

• dernier (last)

• plusieurs (several)

• premier(first)

• quelques (a few)

• tel (such)

• tout (all, whole, every)

In addition, tout precedes both the noun and the definite article ( le, la, l', les):

• tous les hommes (all the men)

• toutes les femmes(all the women)

To use more than one adjective in a description, place each adjective according to its normal position before or after the noun. Two adjectives in the same position are joined by et (and):

• une longue et mauvaise histoire (a long, bad story)

• une grande maison blanche (a big, white house)

Past participles may be used as adjectives and, therefore, must agree with the nouns they modify:

• C'était une surprise inattendue. (It was an unexpected surprise.)

• Ces places sont prises. (These seats are taken.)

The meaning of some adjectives changes depending on the placement of the adjective before or after the noun it modifies. Before a noun, the adjective has a figurative sense; after a noun, the adjective is used literally:

Irregular adjectives

Be careful to use the following irregular adjectives correctly:

• bon( ne)( s) (good)

• meilleur( e)( s) (better)

• le ( la/les) meilleur ( e)( s) (the best)

and

• mauvais( e)( s) (bad)

• mauvais( e)( s) (worse)

• le ( la/les) plus mauvais( e)( s) (the worst)

Exclamations

Use the adjective quel when exclaiming:

• Quelle belle maison!(What a beautiful house!)

• Quelles histoires intéressantes! (What interesting stories!)