French/Grammar/Adjectives - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

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French/Grammar/Adjectives

Just like articles, French adjectives also have to match the nouns that they modify in gender and plurality.

Regular formation
Spelling
Most adjective changes occur in the following manner: Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form un garon intressant --> une fille intressante un ami amusant --> une amie amusante un camion lent --> une voiture lente Plural: add an -s to the singular form un garon intressant --> des garons intressants une fille intressante --> des filles intressantes

Pronunciation
Generally, the final consonant is pronounced only when it comes before an -e. Most adjectives, such as those above, are affected by this rule. Masculine Pronuciation: intressan, amusan, len Feminine Pronunciation: intressant, amusant, lent

Irregular formation
Irregular plural formation
Examples M Sing. -s No change -x --> M. Pl. -s -x Masc. Singular un plafond bas un gros porc un homme gnreux un garon furieux --> Masc. Plural des plafonds bas des gros porcs des hommes gnreux des garons furieux Notes

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-eau Add x -al

-eaux un nouveau jeu -aux un vent hivernal

des nouveaux jeux Exceptions: fatal (fatals), des vents hivernaux final (finals) & naval (navals)

Irregular feminine formation

Examples Masc. --> Fem. Masculine --> No change -e -e Feminine Notes * When the masc. form ends in an -e, there is no change. * The final consonant is pronounced on the masc. form. When an adjective has one of these endings, the ending of the feminine form is doubled. There is no change of pronunciation when changing from -el to -elle. -il is pronounced "ee" (as in keen), while -ille is similar, with a final yuh (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "yuh" on the end: IPA /ij/). -on is pronounced oh(n) and -onne is pronounced ohn. -en is pronounced a(n) and -enne is pronounced ehn. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohs. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahs. goste, populaire, sociable, timide, nergique, dynamique, sympathique cruel gentil cruelle gentille

-el -il

-elle -ille

-on Final Consonant Doubled -en

-onne

bon breton

bonne bretonne

-enne

ancien parisien

ancienne parisienne

-os -as -c change -eur change -eux change -g change -if change -c -eur -eux -g -if

-osse gros -asse bas -che -euse -euse -gue -ive blanc franc accrocheur prometteur furieux gnreux long sportif actif

grosse basse blanche franche accrocheuse prometteuse furieuse gnreuse longue sportive active

-eux is pronounced ew (like dew) and -euse is pronounced ews.

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er change -et change -ou change

-er

-re

tranger cher inquiet complet fou, fol mou, mol

trangre chre inquite complte folle molle

-er is pronounced ay and -re is pronounced ehr, though exceptions such as "cher" exist in which both forms are pronounced with ehr. -et is pronounced ay and -te is pronounced eht. -ol forms occur before a vowel or mute h.

-et -ou / -ol

-te -olle

Special rules
Adjectives that precede nouns
List Adjectives that are used frequently before nouns. These are: affreux (affreuse) autre beau (belle) bon(ne) + court(e) + dernier (dernire) + gentil (gentille) grand(e) + gros(se) + haut(e) jeune + joli(e) large long(ue) mauvais(e) mchant(e) + meilleur(e) nouveau (nouvelle) pauvre petit(e) vieux (vieille) vilain(e) + sometimes placed after a noun, and may change in meaning When these adjectives appear before an indefinite plural noun, they will change the article associated with it [1]: des garons courageux / de beaux garons Changes in meaning

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When grand goes before a noun, it means great. However, when it goes after the noun, it means tall. Likewise, when pauvre goes before a noun, it means unfortunate. When it comes after the noun, it means financially poor. This rule works most of the time, but be careful, "pauvre" can mean "financially poor" even when used before the nouns.

Beau, nouveau, and vieux

These three adjectives behave differently when placed before a singular masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h:

Masc. Sing. Cons. Beau Nouveau Vieux un beau garon un nouveau camion un vieux camion

Masc. Sing Vowel un bel individu un nouvel ordre un vieil ordre

Masc. Plural de beaux garons de nouveaux ordres de vieux camions

Fem. Sing. (all) une belle fillette une nouvelle ide une vieille ide

Fem. Plural de belles fillettes de nouvelles ides de vieilles ides

Possessive adjectives
In English, we say "her car" when the owner of the car is a woman and "his car" when the owner is a man. In French, they say "sa voiture" even if the owner is a male. It is not the owner who determines the gender of the possessive adjective but the object owned. First person singular - mon, ma, mes Second person singular (informal) - ton, ta, tes Third person singular - son, sa, ses First person plural - notre, notre, nos Second person plural (and polite form) - votre, votre, vos Third person plural - leur, leur, leurs Note: Exception. When a feminine noun starts with a vowel or silent 'h', you should utilize "Mon" instead of "Ma". Example:
Mon ami = ok Ma amie = error! Mon amie = ok.

Demonstrative adjectives
There are four adjectives that demonstrate a specific object: Ce garon (masculin) Cet ami (masculin before vowel or silent h) Cette fille (feminine) Ces enfants (plural)

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French/Grammar/Adjectives - Wikibooks, open books for an open world

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References
1. Price, Glanville (2008), A Comprehensive French Grammar (6 ed.), Blackwell, p. 35, ISBN 978-1-4051-5385-0

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