11 - Adjectives

Rules

Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. For example, un livre intéressant (an interesting book) vs. une histoire intéressante (an interesting story).

With adjectives, it’s pretty similar to spanish, where masculine objects get a masculine ending for the adjective, and feminine objects get a feminine ending for the adjective.

For example, masculine you leave the adjective as is, and for feminine, you add an -e to the end:

• “Un homme francais” → A french man
• ”Une femme francaise” → A french woman

Here are the main rules:

• Agreement: Adjectives match the noun’s gender and number (e.g., un livre intéressant, des maisons blanches).
• Placement: Most adjectives follow the noun (maison blanche), but some precede (beau garçon, petite fille).
• Irregulars: Beau → bel before masculine singular vowel/h (bel homme). Vieux → vieille (fem.), vieux/vieilles (pl.).

Adjective	Masc. Sing.	Fem. Sing.	Masc. Pl.	Fem. Pl.	English	Example Sentence
grand	grand	grande	grands	grandes	big/large	Un grand arbre. (A big tree.)
petit	petit	petite	petits	petites	small	Une petite voiture. (A small car.)
beau	beau/bel	belle	beaux	belles	beautiful/handsome	Une belle maison. (A beautiful house.)
bon	bon	bonne	bons	bonnes	good	Un bon ami. (A good friend.)
blanc	blanc	blanche	blancs	blanches	white	Une robe blanche. (A white dress.)

Here’s a summary of the changes:

• Gender:
  • Masculine: Base form (e.g., grand = tall, petit = small).
  • Feminine: Often add e (e.g., grand → grande, petit → petite). Exceptions exist for irregulars (e.g., beau → belle).
• Number:
  • Plural: Add s to masculine or feminine form (e.g., grands, grandes, petits, petites).
  • If the adjective already ends in s or x, no change (e.g., heureux → heureux for plural masculine).

Or if you prefer to think of it like so:

• Masculine Singular: This is the base form of the adjective.
• Feminine Singular: Generally, add an "-e" to the masculine singular form.
• Masculine Plural: Generally, add an "-s" to the masculine singular form.
• Feminine Plural: Generally, add "-es" to the masculine singular form (or "-s" to the feminine singular form).

Adjective Placement

important

Adjectives usually come after the noun in french, just like spanish.

• After the Noun (most adjectives, e.g., colors, qualities):
  • Une maison blanche (A white house, Una casa blanca).
  • Un livre intéressant (An interesting book, Un libro interesante).
• Before the Noun (common adjectives, e.g., beau, grand, petit, bon, joli):
  • Un beau garçon (A handsome boy, Un chico guapo).
  • Une petite fille (A little girl, Una niña pequeña).

Common adjectives to Memorize

• grand (big/large, grande, grands, grandes): Un grand arbre (A big tree, Un árbol grande).
• petit (small, petite, petits, petites): Une petite voiture (A small car, Un coche pequeño).
• bon (good, bonne, bons, bonnes): Un bon ami (A good friend, Un buen amigo).
• beau (beautiful/handsome, belle, beaux, belles): Une belle maison (A beautiful house, Una casa bonita).
• blanc (white, blanche, blancs, blanches): Une robe blanche (A white dress, Un vestido blanco).

Irregular Adjective Rules

If an adjective already ends in "-e" in the masculine singular form, the feminine singular form remains the same.

Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Masculine Plural	Feminine Plural
Rouge	rouge	rouge	rouges
Facile	facile	facile	faciles
Jeune	jeune	jeune	jeunes

Exercises

stage 0: grinding adjectives

Here is an example of using all the adjective forms:

• Le chat est petit. (The cat is small.) - chat is masculine singular, so petit is in its base form.
• La maison est petite. (The house is small.) - maison is feminine singular, so we add "-e" to petit to make petite.
• Les chats sont petits. (The cats are small.) - chats is masculine plural, so we add "-s" to petit to make petits.
• Les maisons sont petites. (The houses are small.) - maisons is feminine plural, so we add "-es" to petit to make petites.

Now do the same for these base adjectives: "grand", "heureux", "beau", "bon", "blanc", "sportif", "actif", "rouge", "premier", "cher", "blanc", "sec", "doux"

stage 1: writing exercises

1. Write 20 sentences involving an adjective, one for each form: grand/grande/grands/grandes, petit/petite/petits/petites, beau/belle/beaux/belles, bon/bonne/bons/bonnes, blanc/blanche/blancs/blanches.
2. Write down the feminine and plural forms of grand, petit, beau, bon.
3. Translate these sentences:
   • Es un libro interesante. (It’s an interesting book.)
   • Tengo una casa grande. (I have a big house.)
   • Ellas son mujeres bonitas. (They are beautiful women.)
   • Vamos a un mercado pequeño. (We go to a small market.)
   • Es un hombre viejo. (He’s an old man.)

stage 2: multiple choice exercises