Agreement with Nouns
In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. This is a key difference from English.
- Masculine singular: un grand livre (a big book)
- Feminine singular: une grande table (a big table)
- Masculine plural: des grands livres (big books)
- Feminine plural: des grandes tables (big tables)
Most adjectives add -e for feminine and -s for plural. Some common patterns:
- Adjectives ending in -e don’t change for feminine: rouge → rouge
- Adjectives ending in -eux change to -euse for feminine: heureux → heureuse
- Some adjectives have irregular forms: beau → belle (beautiful)
Placement
Unlike in English, most French adjectives come after the noun they modify:
- Une voiture rouge (a red car)
- Un film intéressant (an interesting movie)
However, some common adjectives usually come before the noun:
- Petit, grand, jeune, vieux, bon, mauvais, joli, nouveau, ancien
Example: Une petite maison (a small house), un vilain garçon (a naughty boy)
Descriptive vs. Limiting Adjectives
- Descriptive adjectives (like colors, shapes) usually follow the noun: Un chapeau noir (a black hat)
- Limiting adjectives (like numbers, demonstratives) usually precede the noun: Deux chats (two cats), Cette femme (this woman)
Comparison of Adjectives
- Comparative: plus/moins … que (more/less … than)
Elle est plus grande que lui. (She is taller than him.) - Superlative: le/la/les plus/moins (the most/least)
C’est le plus grand bâtiment. (It’s the tallest building.), Cette équipe de football est la moins performante de la compétition (This soccer team is the least successful in the competition).
Demonstrative Adjectives
- Ce (masculine singular), Cette (feminine singular), Ces (plural).
Exemple : Ce livre ( this book), cette pomme ( this apple), ces enfants (theses childs).
Understanding adjectives and their proper use is crucial for creating descriptive and accurate French sentences. As you practice, you’ll become more comfortable with adjective agreement and placement, allowing you to express yourself more precisely in French.