Adjectives: Agreement and Position
Adjectives agree with their noun in gender and number, and most follow it. A few common ones go in front, and some change meaning depending on where they stand.
Regular agreement
Add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for both. An adjective already ending in -e doesn't add another. One already ending in -s or -x doesn't add another in the masculine plural. A mixed group takes the masculine plural.
Singular
Masculinegrand
Femininegrande
Plural
Masculinegrands
Femininegrandes
Ends in -e
Masculinejeune, jeunes
Femininejeune, jeunes
Ends in -s
Masculinegris, gris
Femininegrise, grises
- Mes parents sont contents.My parents are happy.
- Marie et Paul sont grands.Marie and Paul are tall.
Feminine patterns
Spelling and often sound change.
-er, -ier
Feminine-ère, -ière
Examplescher, chère ; premier, première
-eux, -eur
Feminine-euse
Examplesheureux, heureuse ; travailleur, travailleuse. But meilleur, meilleure ; supérieur, supérieure
-teur (many)
Feminine-trice
Examplescréateur, créatrice ; conservateur, conservatrice. But menteur, menteuse
-if
Feminine-ive
Examplessportif, sportive ; neuf, neuve
-el, -eil
Feminine-elle, -eille
Examplesnaturel, naturelle ; pareil, pareille. -il usually just adds -e (civil, civile), but gentil, gentille
-en, -on
Feminine-enne, -onne
Examplesitalien, italienne ; bon, bonne
-et
Feminine-ette, or -ète
Examplesmuet, muette ; complet, complète ; secret, secrète ; inquiet, inquiète
-c
Feminine-che or -que
Examplesblanc, blanche ; franc, franche ; public, publique ; grec, grecque
-g
Feminine-gue
Exampleslong, longue
Irregular feminines and the special forms
Five adjectives have an extra masculine form before a vowel or mute h.
beau
Before vowel or mute hbel
Femininebelle
Masc. pluralbeaux
Fem. pluralbelles
nouveau
Before vowel or mute hnouvel
Femininenouvelle
Masc. pluralnouveaux
Fem. pluralnouvelles
vieux
Before vowel or mute hvieil
Femininevieille
Masc. pluralvieux
Fem. pluralvieilles
fou
Before vowel or mute hfol (rare)
Femininefolle
Masc. pluralfous
Fem. pluralfolles
mou
Before vowel or mute hmol (rare)
Femininemolle
Masc. pluralmous
Fem. pluralmolles
- Un bel homme habite ce vieil immeuble.A handsome man lives in this old building.
- C'est mon nouvel ami.He's my new friend.
Other irregular feminines
Learn these as vocabulary.
| Masculine | Feminine |
| doux | douce |
| faux | fausse |
| roux | rousse |
| frais | fraîche |
| sec | sèche |
| gros | grosse |
| bas | basse |
| épais | épaisse |
| favori | favorite |
| malin | maligne |
| bref | brève |
| aigu | aiguë (or aigüe) |
Plural patterns
The masculine plural follows the noun patterns, with one family of exceptions. The feminine plural is always feminine + s.
-eau
Plural-eaux
Examplesbeau, beaux
-al
Plural-aux
Examplesnational, nationaux ; social, sociaux
Exceptions+ s: banal, fatal, final, natal, naval
-s, -x
Pluralno change
Examplesfrançais, heureux
-eu
Plural+ s
Examplesbleu, bleus
Exceptions+ x: hébreu, hébreux
Position: mostly after
Colour, shape, nationality, religion, participles and long adjectives normally follow the noun.
- Une voiture rouge, une table ronde, un film français.A red car, a round table, a French film.
- Une porte ouverte et une question difficile.An open door and a hard question.
Position: before (BANGS)
Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size. These usually come before the noun: beau, joli; jeune, vieux, nouveau; premier, deuxième, dernier in a series; bon, mauvais, gentil, meilleur; grand, petit, gros, long, haut.
Before a plural noun des becomes de in careful French: de jolies fleurs. Some long adjectives can move in front for emphasis, mostly in formal style: un magnifique paysage.
- Une jolie petite maison blanche.A pretty little white house.
- C'est un bon vieux film américain.It's a good old American film.
Position changes meaning
As a rule, in front the sense is figurative or subjective, and after it is literal.
ancien
Before the nounun ancien professeur: former
After the nounun meuble ancien: antique
cher
Before the nounma chère amie: dear
After the nounun hôtel cher: expensive
grand
Before the nounun grand homme: great
After the nounun homme grand: tall
pauvre
Before the nounce pauvre garçon: unfortunate
After the nounun garçon pauvre: penniless
propre
Before the nounma propre chambre: own
After the nounune chambre propre: clean
seul
Before the nounun seul client: only one
After the nounun client seul: alone
même
Before the nounle même jour: same
After the nounle jour même: that very day
dernier
Before the nounla dernière semaine: final
After the nounla semaine dernière: last, past
prochain
Before the nounla prochaine fois: next in a series
After the nounla semaine prochaine: coming
certain
Before the nounun certain charme: some
After the nounun succès certain: sure
brave
Before the nounun brave homme: decent
After the nounun homme brave: brave
curieux
Before the nounune curieuse histoire: strange
After the nounun enfant curieux: inquisitive
sale
Before the nounun sale type: nasty
After the nounun torchon sale: dirty
simple
Before the nounun simple employé: mere
After the nounun repas simple: plain
Colours
A colour that is really a noun doesn't change: orange, marron, crème, citron, olive, turquoise. Exceptions that do agree: rose, mauve, pourpre, fauve. A compound colour never changes: bleu clair, vert foncé, bleu marine.
- Des chaussures marron et des gants orange.Brown shoes and orange gloves.
- Elle a des yeux bleu clair.She has light blue eyes.
- Des fleurs roses et blanches.Pink and white flowers.
When adjectives don't agree
After c'est, the adjective stays masculine singular. An adjective used as an adverb doesn't change: coûter cher, sentir bon, parler fort, travailler dur, voir clair, marcher droit. Demi agrees only after the noun: une demi-heure, but une heure et demie. Avoir l'air can agree with either the subject or air, and agreement with the subject is usual: elle a l'air fatiguée.
- La mer, c'est beau.The sea is beautiful.
- Ces fleurs sentent bon.These flowers smell good.
- Ces robes coûtent cher.These dresses are expensive.
Adjective order with two or more
Each adjective keeps its own place. Two adjectives after the noun of equal weight join with et.
- Une petite voiture noire.A little black car.
- Un homme intelligent et drôle.A clever, funny man.
- Une grande et belle maison.A big, beautiful house.