2.4. Il est comment ?

Describing People, Places, and Things with Adjectives

2.4.1. The Main Idea

In French, adjectives describe people, places, and things. They can describe personality, appearance, size, quality, or condition.

Il est grand.	He is tall.
Elle est grande.	She is tall.
Le livre est intéressant.	The book is interesting.
La ville est belle.	The city is beautiful.

Many French adjectives change form depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

2.4.2. Masculine and Feminine Adjectives

A common pattern is:

masculine adjective + e	feminine adjective
grand	grande
petit	petite
intéressant	intéressante
amusant	amusante

2.4.3. Examples with People

Il est grand.	He is tall.
Elle est grande.	She is tall.
Il est petit.	He is short.
Elle est petite.	She is short.
Il est intéressant.	He is interesting.
Elle est intéressante.	She is interesting.
Il est amusant.	He is funny / entertaining.
Elle est amusante.	She is funny / entertaining.

2.4.4. Examples with Things

Le livre est intéressant.	The book is interesting.
La leçon est intéressante.	The lesson is interesting.
Le cours est amusant.	The class is fun / entertaining.
La classe est amusante.	The class is fun / entertaining.
Le sac est petit.	The bag is small.
La table est petite.	The table is small.

2.4.5. Examples with Places

Le café est petit.	The café is small.
La ville est grande.	The city is big.
Le restaurant est intéressant.	The restaurant is interesting.
La maison est belle.	The house is beautiful.
L’université est grande.	The university is big.

2.4.6. Adjectives That Already End in -e

Some adjectives already end in -e in the masculine form. These usually stay the same in the feminine form.

jeune	jeune
calme	calme
riche	riche
difficile	difficile
facile	facile

2.4.7. Examples with Same-Form Adjectives

Il est jeune.	He is young.
Elle est jeune.	She is young.
Le cours est facile.	The course is easy.
La leçon est facile.	The lesson is easy.
Le café est calme.	The café is calm.
La ville est calme.	The city is calm.

2.4.8. Common Adjectives

grand	big / tall, masculine
grande	big / tall, feminine
petit	small / short, masculine
petite	small / short, feminine
intéressant	interesting, masculine
intéressante	interesting, feminine
amusant	funny / entertaining, masculine
amusante	funny / entertaining, feminine
jeune	young
calme	calm
facile	easy
difficile	difficult
beau	beautiful / handsome, masculine
belle	beautiful, feminine
bon	good, masculine
bonne	good, feminine

2.4.9. Word Order

In French, many adjectives usually come after the noun.

un livre intéressant	an interesting book
une leçon intéressante	an interesting lesson
un cours difficile	a difficult course
une ville calme	a calm city

Some common adjectives often come before the noun, such as petit, grand, beau, and bon.

un petit café	a small café
une grande ville	a big city
un beau livre	a beautiful book
une bonne leçon	a good lesson

2.4.10. Core Patterns

Il est ___ .	He is ___ .
Elle est ___ .	She is ___ .
C’est ___ .	It is ___ .
Le livre est ___ .	The book is ___ .
La ville est ___ .	The city is ___ .

2.4.11. Practice

He is tall. |

She is tall. |

The book is interesting. |

The lesson is interesting. |

The class is difficult. |

The city is calm. |

A small café |

A good lesson |

2.4.12. Answers

He is tall.	Il est grand.
She is tall.	Elle est grande.
The book is interesting.	Le livre est intéressant.
The lesson is interesting.	La leçon est intéressante.
The class is difficult.	Le cours est difficile.
The city is calm.	La ville est calme.
A small café	Un petit café
A good lesson	Une bonne leçon

2.4.13. Short Dialogue

A : Le cours est comment ?	A: What is the class like?
B : Le cours est intéressant. Et la leçon ?	B: The class is interesting. And the lesson?
A : La leçon est facile.	A: The lesson is easy.
B : Très bien !	B: Very good!

2.4.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to describe people, places, and things with basic adjectives, recognize masculine and feminine adjective forms, and understand that many French adjectives come after the noun.