# French/Grammar/Adjectives

* Adjectives
* Adverbs
* Articles
* Nouns
* Prepositions
* Pronouns
* Sentences
* Verbs
** Tenses and moods
** Conjugations
Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts
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 garçon intéressant --> une fille intéressante
** un ami amusant --> une amie amusante
** un camion lent --> une voiture lente
* Plural: add an -s to the singular form
** un garçon intéressant --> des garçons intéressants
** une fille intéressante --> des filles intéressantes

### 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 Pronunciation: intéressan, amusan, len
* Feminine Pronunciation: intéressant, amusant, lent

## Irregular formation
### Irregular plural formation

| | | | | Examples | Examples | Examples | |
| | M Sing. | --> | M. Pl. | Masc. Singular | --> | Masc. Plural | Notes |
| No change | -s | | -s | un plafond bas un gros porc | | des plafonds bas des gros porcs |
| No change | -x | | -x | un homme généreux un garçon furieux | | des hommes généreux des garçons furieux |
| Add x | -eau | | -eaux | un nouveau jeu | | des nouveaux jeux | |
| Add x | -al | | -aux | un vent hivernal | | des vents hivernaux | Exceptions: fatal (fatals), final (finals) & naval (navals) |

### Irregular feminine formation

| | | | | Examples | Examples | Examples | |
| | Masc. | --> | Fem. | Masculine | --> | Feminine | Notes |
| No change | -e | | -e | égoïste, populaire, sociable, timide, énergique, dynamique, sympathique | égoïste, populaire, sociable, timide, énergique, dynamique, sympathique | égoïste, populaire, sociable, timide, énergique, dynamique, sympathique | * 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 | cruel | | cruelle | 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -on | | -onne | bon breton | | bonne bretonne | 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| Final Consonant Doubled | -en | | -enne | ancien parisien | | ancienne parisienne | 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| 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 y$^{uh}$ (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. |
| -c change | -c | | -che | blanc franc | | blanche franche | |
| -eur change | -eur | | -euse | accrocheur prometteur | | accrocheuse prometteuse | |
| -eux change | -eux | | -euse | furieux généreux | | furieuse généreuse | -eux is pronounced ew (like dew) and -euse is pronounced ews. |
| -g change | -g | | -gue | long | | longue | |
| -if change | -if | | -ive | sportif actif | | sportive active | |
| er change | -er | | -ère | étranger cher | | étrangère chère | -er is pronounced ay and -ère is pronounced ehr, though exceptions such as "cher" exist in which both forms are pronounced with ehr. |
| -et change | -et | | -ète | inquiet complet | | inquiète complète | -et is pronounced ay and -ète is pronounced eht. |
| -ou change | -ou / -ol | | -olle | fou, fol mou, mol | | folle molle | -ol forms occur before a vowel or mute h. |

## 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 (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 garçon | un bel individu | de beaux garçons | une belle fillette | de belles fillettes |
| Nouveau | un nouveau camion | un nouvel ordre | de nouveaux ordres | une nouvelle idée | de nouvelles idées |
| Vieux | un vieux camion | un vieil ordre | de vieux camions | une vieille idée | de vieilles idées |

## Possessive adjectives

A possessive adjective tells us who owns/possesses something. So, you might say, "my house", "their family" or "his dogs". The same is done in French. However unlike English, in French we use different possessive adjectives dependent not only the person who owns the object (my car vs your car etc.) but also dependent on the gender and number. E.g. If I only have one dog, I would say, "mon chien" but if I have lots of dogs, I would say, "mes chiens".
Furthermore 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. The following possessive adjectives are in the order of: masculine object, feminine object, plural (several of the object).
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:

## Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives identifies a specific object relative to the speaker. In English, demonstrative adjectives are words like, "this" and "these".
There are four adjectives that demonstrate a specific object in French:
* Ce garçon (masculine) - this/that boy
* Cet ami (masculine before vowel or silent h) - this/that friend
* Cette fille (feminine) - this/that girl
* Ces enfants (plural) - these/those children

## References

* ↑ Price, Glanville (2008), A Comprehensive French Grammar (6 ed.), Blackwell, p. 35, ISBN 978-1-4051-5385-0
Adjectives · Adverbs · Articles · Nouns · Prepositions · Pronouns · Sentences · Verbs
(Tenses and moods · Conjugations)
French :
Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts