Adjective Agreement For Intermediate learners
Agreement of Adjectives in French (L'accord des adjectifs)
An adjective (adjectif) is a word that describes or gives information about a noun, such as its quality, size, age, appearance, color, personality, or state. In French, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. This means that an adjective changes its form to match the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
This rule is fundamental in French grammar and applies to almost all adjectives, no matter where they are placed in the sentence.
Look at the examples below:
Un film intéressant
An interesting movie
Une ville moderne
A modern city
Des enfants calmes
Calm children
Une décision importante
An important decision
Agreement in Gender
French nouns are either masculine or feminine, and adjectives must reflect this gender. The masculine singular form of an adjective is the default form. It is the form you find in dictionaries and vocabulary lists. From this masculine base form, the feminine form is usually created by applying specific spelling rules.
1. General Rule for Feminine Forms
In most cases, the feminine form of an adjective is created by adding -e to the masculine form.
un homme grand → une femme grande
a tall man → a tall woman
2. Common Feminine Spelling Patterns
Some masculine adjective endings change spelling when forming the feminine.
Masculine ending | Feminine ending |
|---|---|
-e | no change |
-é | -ée |
-er | -ère |
-eux | -euse |
-if | -ive |
-on | -onne |
un homme calme / une femme calme
a calm man / a calm woman
un garçon fatigué / une fille fatiguée
a tired boy / a tired girl
un travail sérieux / une situation sérieuse
a serious work / a serious situation
un sport actif / une personne active
an active sport / an active person
un film bon / une idée bonne
a good film / a good idea
3. Irregular Feminine Forms
Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms that cannot be guessed easily and must be memorized. These adjectives are very common, so learning them early is essential. Here are some examples:
beau → belle
handsome → beautiful
nouveau → nouvelle
new
vieux → vieille
old
blanc → blanche
white
fou → folle
crazy
Pronunciation Changes Between Masculine and Feminine Adjectives
In French, many adjectives change pronunciation when moving from the masculine to the feminine form. This usually happens because the masculine form ends with a silent consonant, which becomes pronounced when an -e is added for the feminine.
Silent consonant in the masculine, pronounced in the feminine
petit /pə.ti/ → petite /pə.tit/
small
grand /gʁɑ̃/ → grande /gʁɑ̃d/
big / tall
bon /bɔ̃/ → bonne /bɔn/
good
Common spelling changes with pronunciation changes
actif /akti(ː)f/ → active /aktiv/
active
heureux /øʁø/ → heureuse /øʁøz/
happy
Adjectives ending in -e
If the masculine form already ends in -e, the pronunciation does not change.
moderne /mɔdɛʁn/ → moderne /mɔdɛʁn/
modern
Agreement in Number
Adjectives must also agree with the noun in number.
1. General Plural Rule
Most adjectives form the plural by adding -s, just like most nouns.
un exercice facile → des exercices faciles
The plural -s is usually silent, but it is essential in writing.
2. Common Plural Spelling Patterns
Some adjectives follow specific plural spelling rules.
Ending | Plural form |
|---|---|
-s / -x | no change |
-eau | -eaux |
-al | -aux |
heureux → des enfants heureux
happy children
nouveau → des chapeaux nouveaux
new hats
national → des problèmes nationaux
national problems
Warning!
Some adjectives in -al are regular and simply add -s:
final → finals
final → finals
banal → banals
banal → banals
Agreement in Gender and Number Combined
When a noun is both feminine and plural, the adjective must reflect both features at the same time. This combined agreement is one of the main differences between French and English.
une voiture rapide
a fast car
des voitures rapides
fast cars
Tip!
When an adjective describes nouns of different genders, French uses the masculine plural as the default form.
un frère et une sœur heureux
a happy brother and sister
Adjectives after Linking Verbs
Adjectives placed after linking verbs (attributive verbs) still agree with the subject, not with the verb. Common linking verbs:
être (to be)
sembler (to seem)
devenir (to become)
rester (to stay)
paraître (to appear)
Elle est fatiguée.
She is tired.
The adjective describes the subject, so agreement follows the subject.
Les élèves deviennent attentifs.
The students are becoming attentive.
Invariable Adjectives
Some adjectives do not change, even in plural or feminine forms.
a) Color Adjectives from Nouns
Colors that come from nouns (objects, materials, food) are usually invariable. Common examples of these adjectives are: orange, marron, beige, and chocolat.
des sacs marron
brown bags
une robe orange
an orange dress
Warning!
Exception: rose, mauve, violet do agree.
une robe violette
a violet dress
b) Compound Color Adjectives
Compound color adjectives (two or more words) are also invariable. Only simple color adjectives (rouge, bleu, noir, etc.) agree normally.
des yeux bleu clair
light blue eyes
des robes vert foncé
dark green dresses
Comments
(0)
Recommended
