French Reference Grammar - Nouns, articles and adjectives
Adjectives
'Adjectives qualify nouns, that is give us more detail about them. A noun such as ‘man’ is nondescript, but if we add words (to) the noun, a transformation occurs.' (Language into Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001)
Adjectives are used to describe, or in grammatical terms to qualify, nouns and other expressions.
In English, adjectives precede the noun unless for special effects.
In French, the general rule is that most adjectives follow the noun.
However, the commonly used and generally short adjectives precede nouns. Adjectives which precede the noun are:- beau/belle
- bon/bonne
- ce/cette/ces
- grand
- gros/grosse
- joli/jolie
- mauvais/mauvaise
- petit/petite
- quel/quelle
- vieux/vieille
Agreement of the adjective
Adjectives agree with the noun which they qualify. If a noun is feminine singular, the adjective which qualifies it must be made feminine singular. If a noun is masculine plural, any adjective in agreement must also be masculine plural.
The form of the adjective which appears in a dictionary is the masculine singular form. If an adjective has an irregularly formed feminine, that is usually given too - hence, 'beau/belle' above.
To make the adjective feminine, add 'e' to the masculine singular. If the masculine singular already ends in -e, do not add anything. 'Adorable' is both the masculine singular and the feminine singular form.
To make the adjective masculine plural, add -s to the masculine singular. (But note the comments on forming plurals earlier.)
To make the adjective feminine plural, add -es to the masculine singular.
Irregular adjectives
Here are some adjectives which have irregular feminines:
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular |
| actif | active |
| beau | belle |
| blanc | blanche |
| bon | bonne |
| ce | cette |
| gros | grosse |
| mignon | mignonne |
| paresseux | paresseuse |
| quel | quelle |
| quel | quelle |
| vieux | vieille |
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives are the words 'my', 'your', 'his/her' etc in English. In French they too have to agree with the noun. They are arranged here as first, second and third person, singular and plural.
- Note that the plural forms are both masculine and feminine.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Plural | English translation |
| mon | ma | mes | my |
| ton | ta | tes | your |
| son | sa | ses | his, her, one’s |
| notre | notre | nos | our |
| votre | votre | vos | your |
| leur | leur | leurs | their |