# French For Football/Grammar/Adjectives
## Regular formation

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

### Spelling

Most adjective changes occur in the following manner:
* Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form
** un gardien impressionnant --> une gardienne impressionnante (an impressive male / female keeper)
** un changement surprenant --> une victoire surprenante (a surprising substitution / victory)
** un match mouvementé --> une saison mouvementée (an eventful match / season)
* Plural: add an -s to the singular form
** un moment fort --> des moments forts (a highlight / some highlights)
** une équipe forte --> des équipes fortes (a strong team / some strong teams)

### 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: impressionnan, surprenan, for
* Feminine Pronunciation: impressionnant, surprenant, fort
With plural adjectives, the -s ending is not pronounced, so the adjective will sound exactly the same as the singular form.

### Exceptions and Irregularities

* Adjectives that end in e in the masculine form do not change with gender.
* When an adjective, such as gros, ends in -s, it does not change in the masculine plural form.
* Sometimes the final consonant is doubled in the feminine form.

## Irregular formation
### Irregular plural formation

| | | | | Examples | Examples | Examples | |
| | M Sing. | → | M. Pl. | Masc. Singular | → | Masc. Plural | Notes |
| No change | -s | | -s | un joueur français un gros match | | des joueurs français des gros matchs |
| No change | -x | | -x | un tir chanceux un joueur talentueux | | des tirs chanceux des joueurs talentueux |
| Add x | -eau | | -eaux | un nouveau maillot | | des nouveaux maillots | |
| Add x | -al | | -aux | un match amical | | des matchs amicaux | Exceptions: fatal (fatals), final (finals) & naval (navals) |

### Irregular feminine formation

| | | | | Examples | Examples | Examples | |
| | Masc. | → | Fem. | Masculine | → | Feminine | Notes |
| No change | -e | | -e | adverse, contestable, difficile, imbattable, opportuniste, spectaculaire, tactique | adverse, contestable, difficile, imbattable, opportuniste, spectaculaire, tactique | adverse, contestable, difficile, imbattable, opportuniste, spectaculaire, tactique | When the masc. form ends in an -e, there is no change. The final consonant is pronounced on the masc. form. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -el | | -elle | individuel | | individuelle | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -il | | -ille | gentil | | gentille | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -on | | -onne | bon | | bonne | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -en | | -enne | ancien aérien | | ancienne aérienne | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -os | | -osse | gros | | grosse | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -as | | -asse | bas | | basse | 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 yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. |
| -c change | -c | | -che | blanc franc | | blanche franche | |
| -eur change | -eur | | -euse | accrocheur prometteur | | accrocheuse prometteuse | |
| -eux change | -eux | | -euse | astucieux chanceux | | astucieuse chanceuse | -eux is pronounced euhh and -euse is pronounced euhsse. |
| -g change | -g | | -gue | long | | longue | |
| -if change | -if | | -ive | décisif défensif | | décisive défensive | |
| er change | -er | | -ère | premier dernier | | première dernière | -er is pronounced ay and -ère is pronounced air, though exceptions such as "fier" exist in which both forms are pronounced with an ending similar to the word "air". |
| -et change | -et | | -ète | inquiet complet | | inquiète complète | -et is pronounced ay and -ète is pronounced ette. |
| -ou change | -ou / -ol | | -olle | fou, fol mou, mol | | folle molle | -ol forms occur before a vowel or mute h. |

## Special rules
### Word Order

Most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French.
* un joueur expérimenté - an experienced player
* des joueurs expérimentés - (some) experienced players
However, some common French adjectives, including beau, nouveau, and vieux come before the noun.
* un joli but - a lovely goal
Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun.
* de jolis buts - (some) lovely goals
Note that in informal speech, des is very often used in place of de.

### Adjectives that precede nouns
#### List

Adjectives that are used frequently before nouns. These are:
* affreux (affreuse)
* autre
* beau (belle)
* bon(ne) +
* court(e) +
* dernier (dernière) +
* gentil (gentille)
* grand(e) +
* gros(se) +
* haut(e)
* jeune +
* joli(e)
* large
* long(ue)
* mauvais(e)
* méchant(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:
* des garçons courageux / de beaux garçons

#### Changes in meaning

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. | Masc. Sing Vowel | Masc. Plural | Fem. Sing. (all) | Fem. Plural |
| Beau | un beau mouvement | un bel arret | de beaux arrets | une belle occasion | de belles occasions |
| Nouveau | un nouveau joueur | un nouvel investisseur | de nouveaux investisseurs | une nouvelle recrue | de nouvelles recrues |
| Vieux | un vieux briscard | un vieil ami | de vieux amis | une vieille idée | de vieilles idées |
(Translations: mouvement=interplay, arret=save, occasion=chance, joueur=player, investisseur=investor, recrue=recruit, briscard=veteran, ami=friend, idée=idea)

## 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 use "Mon" instead of "Ma". Example:

### Usage

Possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object.
* C'est mon billet. - It's my ticket.
In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject (his sister, her brother). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify.
Whether the third person singular possessive adjectives son, sa and ses should be translated as his or her is indicated by context.
* Elle a son billet. - She has her ticket.

### Liaison and adjective changes

Liaison occurs when mon, ton, and son are followed by a vowel.
* Il est mon$_n$ami. - He is my friend.
* Il est ton$_n$ami. - He is your friend.
* Il est son$_n$ami. - He is his/her friend.
Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s.
* Ils sont mes$_z$amis. - They are my friends.
* Ils sont nos$_z$amis. - They are our friends.
Mon, ton, and son are used before a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h. Elision (to m', t', or s') does not occur.
* Elle est mon$_n$amie. - She is my friend.

## Demonstrative adjectives

There are four adjectives (meaning this or these) that demonstrate a specific object:
* Ce match (masculin)
* Cet après-midi (masculin before vowel or silent h)
* Cette semaine (feminine)
* Ces joueurs (plural)
(après-midi=afternoon, semaine=week)

## Superlative

le/la/les + plus/moins + un adjectif
le/la/les + meilleur(e)(s)/mieux/pire

## Acknowledgements

This page is based on original text from French/Grammar/Adjectives dated 22 January 2010.