Forms of Adjectives
2.6.1. The Main Idea
In French, adjectives often change form. They usually agree with the noun or person they describe.
un étudiant intelligent | an intelligent male student |
une étudiante intelligente | an intelligent female student |
un livre intéressant | an interesting book |
une leçon intéressante | an interesting lesson |
Adjectives can change for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural.
2.6.2. Masculine and Feminine Forms
A common pattern is to add -e to the masculine form to make the feminine form.
grand | grande |
petit | petite |
intelligent | intelligente |
intéressant | intéressante |
amusant | amusante |
2.6.3. Examples: Masculine and Feminine
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 intelligent. | He is intelligent. |
Elle est intelligente. | She is intelligent. |
Le cours est intéressant. | The course is interesting. |
La leçon est intéressante. | The lesson is interesting. |
2.6.4. Singular and Plural Forms
A common pattern is to add -s to make an adjective plural.
un livre intéressant | an interesting book |
des livres intéressants | interesting books |
une leçon intéressante | an interesting lesson |
des leçons intéressantes | interesting lessons |
The final -s is usually silent.
2.6.5. Four Basic Forms
Many adjectives have four forms:
grand | masculine singular |
grande | feminine singular |
grands | masculine plural |
grandes | feminine plural |
petit | masculine singular |
petite | feminine singular |
petits | masculine plural |
petites | feminine plural |
2.6.6. Examples: Four Forms
un grand livre | a big book |
une grande table | a big table |
des grands livres | big books |
des grandes tables | big tables |
un petit sac | a small bag |
une petite chaise | a small chair |
des petits sacs | small bags |
des petites chaises | small chairs |
2.6.7. Adjectives Ending in -e
If the masculine form already ends in -e, the feminine form usually stays the same.
jeune | jeune |
calme | calme |
riche | riche |
facile | facile |
difficile | difficile |
2.6.8. Examples: Same Masculine and Feminine Form
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. |
2.6.9. Irregular Feminine Forms
Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms.
beau | belle |
nouveau | nouvelle |
vieux | vieille |
bon | bonne |
blanc | blanche |
2.6.10. Examples: Irregular Forms
un beau livre | a beautiful book |
une belle maison | a beautiful house |
un nouveau cours | a new course |
une nouvelle leçon | a new lesson |
un vieux cahier | an old notebook |
une vieille table | an old table |
un bon étudiant | a good student, masculine |
une bonne étudiante | a good student, feminine |
un sac blanc | a white bag |
une gomme blanche | a white eraser |
2.6.11. Core Patterns
masculine singular | grand |
feminine singular | grande |
masculine plural | grands |
feminine plural | grandes |
masculine + e | feminine |
singular + s | plural |
masculine ending in -e | same feminine form |
2.6.12. Practice
a tall male student |
a tall female student |
interesting books |
interesting lessons |
he is intelligent |
she is intelligent |
a good male student |
a good female student |
a white bag |
a white eraser |
2.6.13. Answers
a tall male student | un étudiant grand |
a tall female student | une étudiante grande |
interesting books | des livres intéressants |
interesting lessons | des leçons intéressantes |
he is intelligent | Il est intelligent. |
she is intelligent | Elle est intelligente. |
a good male student | un bon étudiant |
a good female student | une bonne étudiante |
a white bag | un sac blanc |
a white eraser | une gomme blanche |
2.6.14. Short Dialogue
A : Le livre est intéressant ? | A: Is the book interesting? |
B : Oui, le livre est intéressant. Et la leçon ? | B: Yes, the book is interesting. And the lesson? |
A : La leçon est intéressante. | A: The lesson is interesting. |
B : Très bien ! | B: Very good! |
2.6.15. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize masculine, feminine, singular, and plural adjective forms, make many feminine adjectives by adding -e, make many plural adjectives by adding -s, and identify a few common irregular adjective forms.
2.6.16. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
He is intelligent.
She is intelligent.