French I: Forming Plural from Singular Adjectives

The plural of most adjectives is formed by adding s to the singular of the masculine or feminine adjective, as shown in Table 1 (feminine form in parentheses).

TABLE 1

Forming Plural Adjectives

Singular Adjective	Plural Adjective
sincére (sincere)	sincéres
âgé(e) (old)	âgé(e)s
fort(e) (strong)	fort(e)s
cher(chére) (dear, expensive)	cher(chére)s
bon(ne) (good)	bon(ne)s
long(ue) (long)	long(ue)s

An adjective modifying two or more nouns of different genders uses the masculine plural: L'homme et sa femme sont généreux. (The man and his wife are generous.)

Masculine singular adjectives that end in s or x

If a masculine singular adjective ends in s or x, the singular and plural are identical, as shown in Table 2 .

TABLE 2

Forming Plural Adjectives of Words Ending in s or x

Singular Adjective	Plural Adjective
frais (fresh)	frais
bas (low)	bas
heureux (happy)	heureux

TABLE 3

Forming Plural Adjectives of Words Ending in al

Singular Adjective	Plural Adjective
spécial (special)	spéciaux
social (social)	sociaux
national (national)	nationaux

Masculine singular adjectives that end in al

For most masculine adjectives ending in - al, change - al to - aux in the plural:

Masculine irregular singular adjectives

Both masculine singular forms of beau (bel), nouveau (nouvel), and vieux (vieil) have one and the same plural form. (Note that des becomes de before the adjective). See the “Masculine irregular adjectives” article for a better understanding of using bel, nouvel, and vieil.

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