Adjectives

Adjectifs
One of the eight parts of speech, adjectives are a type of modifier; that is, they modify or
describe nouns in a certain way, letting you know the size, shape, weight, color, nationality,
or any of a myriad other possible qualities of nouns.

Adjectives serve the same purpose in French and English, but they are very different in two
other respects.

Characteristics of French Adjectives

1. Modify nouns
2. Must agree in gender and number with nouns
3. Usually follow nouns
4. May be modified by adverbs

1. Gender and Number of French Adjectives

English adjectives have a single form, but in French, they can have up to 4* forms, according
to the gender and number of the nouns they modify:

masculine singular   masculine plural

feminine singular   feminine plural

Masculine singular is the default form, to which the feminine and/or plural endings are
added. For regular adjectives,** these endings are e for feminine and s for plural.

Par exemple…

petit (small)

le petit verre   les petits verres

la petite   les petites

tasse tasses

When the default form of the adjective ends in s or x, the masculine singular and plural
forms are the same.

Par exemple…
surpris (surprised)

Il est surpris.   Ils sont surpris.

Elle est   Elles sont

surprise. surprises.

When the default form of the adjective ends in a, e, or o, the masculine and feminine forms
are the same.

Par exemple…

calme (calm)

un homme calme   des hommes

calmes

une femme   des femmes calmes

calme

  See the links to irregular feminine and plural forms at the end of this lesson.
*There are a few adjectives that have 5 forms.

**All regular and most irregular present participles and past participles follow these rules.

Quiz: Adjective agreement

2. Placement of French Adjectives

While English adjectives are always placed in front of the nouns they describe, most French
adjectives follow nouns:

Par exemple…

le stylo bleu   the blue pen

une histoire   an interesting story

intéressante

  There are, however, a few dozen French adjectives that precede nouns. Most of these
can be memorized with the simple acronym BAGS:
Beauty une belle fille a beautiful girl
un joli appartement a nice apartment

Age un jeune homme a young man

une vieille dame an old woman

Good and une bonne idée a good idea

bad un mauvais a bad restaurant
restaurant

Size un grand livre a big book

une petite maison a small house