French Adjectives & Agreement

The Golden Rule of Agreement

An adjective changes its spelling to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies.

• If the noun is masculine singular, the adjective is in its default form.

• If the noun is feminine singular, you often add an -e.

• If the noun is masculine plural, you often add an -s.

• If the noun is feminine plural, you add both an -e and an -s.

Let's see this in action with the adjective petit (small):

1. Gender Agreement: Masculine vs. Feminine

How to make an adjective feminine depends on its masculine singular ending.

Rule 1: Add a Silent -e

This is the most common rule. If the masculine form doesn't already end in -e, add a silent -e to make it feminine.

• un homme grand (a tall man) → une femme grande (a tall woman)

• un jardin vert (a green garden) → une herbe verte (green grass)

Important: Adding a silent -e can change the pronunciation!

• petit (m) is pronounced /puh-tee/, but petite (f) is pronounced /puh-teet/.

• gris (m, grey) is pronounced /gree/, but grise (f) is pronounced /greez/.

Rule 2: Double Consonant + -e

For masculine adjectives ending in -el, -eil, -ien, -on, -et, -s, -t, you often double the final consonant and add -e.

Rule 3: Change -er to -ère

• cher (expensive/dear) → chère

• premier (first) → première

• léger (light) → légère

Rule 4: Change -x to -se

• heureux (happy) → heureuse

• paresseux (lazy) → paresseuse

Rule 5: Irregular Changes

Some common adjectives are completely irregular.

2. Number Agreement: Singular vs. Plural

Rule 1: Add a Silent -s

This is the most common rule. Add an -s to the singular form.

• un livre vert → des livres verts

• une pomme verte → des pommes vertes

Rule 2: Adjectives ending in -s or -x stay the same in the masculine plural.

• un homme heureux (a happy man) → des hommes heureux (happy men)

• un prix bas (a low price) → des prix bas (low prices)

Rule 3: Adjectives ending in -eau add -x in the plural.

• un beau château → de beaux châteaux

• un nouveau livre → de nouveaux livres

Rule 4: Adjectives ending in -al change to -aux in the masculine plural.

• un problème amical (a friendly problem) → des problèmes amicaux (friendly problems)

• un paysage natal (a native landscape) → des paysages nataux (native landscapes)

Exception: banal → banals, final → finals, etc.

3. Adjective Placement: Before or After the Noun?

This is a major point of confusion. The core rule is:

Most adjectives come AFTER the noun.

• une voiture rouge (a red car)

• un homme intelligent (an intelligent man)

• une table ronde (a round table)

A small, important group comes BEFORE the noun.

These are often short, common adjectives describing beauty, age, goodness, and size. A great mnemonic is B A N G S:

• Beauty: beau, joli (beautiful, pretty)

• Age: nouveau, jeune, vieux (new, young, old)

• Number: premier, deuxième (first, second)

• Goodness: bon, mauvais, meilleur (good, bad, better)

• Size: grand, petit, long, court (big, small, long, short)

Examples of BANGS adjectives before the noun:

• une belle femme (a beautiful woman)

• un vieux ami (an old friend)

• un bon restaurant (a good restaurant)

• une petite maison (a small house)

Adjectives that change meaning based on placement:

Some adjectives have different meanings depending on whether they are before or after the noun.

Summary Table: A Complete Example

Let's use the adjective nouveau (new) which follows the BANGS rule and has an irregular feminine form (nouvelle).

Key Takeaways for Mastery:

1. Agree First: Always ask: Is the noun masculine/feminine? Singular/plural? Adjust the adjective accordingly.

2. Placement Second: Is it a BANGS adjective? If yes, it usually goes before the noun. If not, it goes after.

3. Pronunciation Matters: Adding a silent -e can make a final consonant audible (petit vs. petite).

4. Practice with Common Pairs: Learn adjectives with their opposites (grand/petit, beau/laid, nouveau/vieux) to build vocabulary.