Adjective agreement concept

Level 1

In French, adjectives aren't fixed. They change their spelling (and sometimes sound) to agree with the noun they modify. Usually, you add -e for feminine and -s for plural.

How It Works

Adjective agreement is a fundamental rule in French. It applies whether the adjective is right next to the noun or separated by a verb like être (to be).

1. The Basic Rules:

  • Masculine Singular: The base form (e.g., petit).
  • Feminine Singular: Add an -e (e.g., petite).
  • Masculine Plural: Add an -s (e.g., petits). Note: If the base form already ends in -s or -x (like français or heureux), it does not change in the masculine plural.
  • Feminine Plural: Add -es (e.g., petites).

2. Spelling & Sound Changes:
Adding an -e often makes a silent final consonant audible. For example, in grand (tall), the 'd' is silent, but in grande, the 'd' is pronounced.

3. Special Cases & Consonant Doubling:

  • If an adjective already ends in -e (like rouge), it doesn't change for the feminine.
  • Some endings double the consonant: -on becomes -onne (bon → bonne), -en becomes -enne (italien → italienne), and -el becomes -elle (cruel → cruelle). For -et, some double to -ette (muet → muette) while others change to -ète (complet → complète). Most adjectives ending in -s just add an -e (gris → grise), but a few double to -sse (gros → grosse, bas → basse).
  • -er becomes -ère (cher → chère), -f becomes -ve (neuf → neuve), -eux becomes -euse (heureux → heureuse), -eur often becomes -euse (travailleur → travailleuse) or -rice (protecteur → protectrice), but comparative/Latin adjectives simply add an -e (meilleur → meilleure), and -c becomes -che (blanc → blanche) or -que (public → publique).
  • Adjectives ending in -al usually change to -aux in the masculine plural (général → généraux), though some exceptions just add an -s (like banal → banals, fatal → fatals, naval → navals), and those ending in -eau change to -eaux (beau → beaux).
  • Special forms bel, nouvel, vieil, fol, and mol are used for masculine singular nouns when the following word starts with a vowel or silent 'h' (e.g., un bel homme, un vieil ami vs Cet homme est beau). Their feminine forms are belle, nouvelle, vieille, folle, and molle.
  • Some common adjectives have highly irregular feminine forms, such as frais → fraîche, doux → douce, long → longue, and faux → fausse.

4. Colors & Mixed Groups:

  • Most colors derived from nouns (like marron or orange) are invariable. However, rose, mauve, pourpre, écarlate, and fauve are exceptions that agree normally (since they already end in -e, only the plural -s is visible, e.g., des fleurs roses).
  • Compound colors (like bleu clair or vert foncé) are always invariable.
  • If you are describing a group with both masculine and feminine nouns, the masculine form always takes priority for the plural agreement.

Examples (5)

  1. Le vélo est vert.

    The bike is green.

    Word by Word: The bike is green.

    Since 'vélo' is masculine singular, the adjective 'vert' stays in its base form.

  2. La voiture est verte.

    The car is green.

    Word by Word: The car is green.

    Since 'voiture' is feminine singular, we add an -e to 'vert' to make it 'verte'.

  3. Les vélos sont verts.

    The bikes are green.

    Word by Word: The bikes are green.

    For a masculine plural noun, we add an -s to the adjective.

  4. Les voitures sont vertes.

    The cars are green.

    Word by Word: The cars are green.

    For a feminine plural noun, we add -es to the adjective.

  5. Un bel homme et une belle femme.

    A handsome man and a beautiful woman.

    Word by Word: A beautiful man and a beautiful woman.

    This shows the irregular forms of 'beau'. 'Bel' is used before a masculine noun starting with a vowel.

Common Mistakes

  • Pronouncing the plural -s or -es at the end of adjectives.

    Les petites [pe-tit-ez] filles.
    Les petites [pe-tit] filles.

    In French, the plural markers -s and -es are almost always silent. The adjective 'petites' sounds exactly like the feminine singular 'petite'.

  • Making color adjectives agree when they are derived from nouns (like orange or marron).

    Des chaussures oranges.
    Des chaussures orange.

    Colors that are also nouns (like the fruit 'orange') do not change for gender or number. They are invariable. However, common exceptions like 'rose', 'mauve', and 'fauve' do take an -s in the plural.

  • Using feminine agreement with the impersonal expression 'C'est'.

    La pizza ? C'est bonne.
    La pizza ? C'est bon.

    When using 'C'est' to make a general statement, the adjective is always masculine singular, regardless of the noun's gender.

How It Connects

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Adjective agreement conceptLevel 1

Learn This First

Before learning how adjectives change their form, you need to understand the French system of grammatical gender, as the adjective's ending depends entirely on the gender and number of the noun it modifies.

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Patterns that build on this one.

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