Definition
Descriptive adjectives (les adjectifs qualificatifs) are the most commonly used kind of adjective, they are used to describe different qualities of the noun being modified. In French descriptive adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify. They may also follow forms of the verb être (to be) : il est gentil (he is nice); elle est jeune (she is young).
une amie gentille a nice friend (f.)
un homme intéressant an interesting man
un sac à dos pratique a pratical backpack
elle est sportive she is athletic
Agreement of adjectives in gender and number
In French, adjectives agree in both gender and number with the nouns they modify. The feminine form of adjectives usually ends in -e and the regular plural adds an -s :
un ami intelligent a smart friend (m) des amis intelligents some smart friends (m)
une amie intelligente a smart friend (f) des amies intelligentes some smart friends (f)
In addition to this first rule, you have to know that :
– if the masculine singular form of the adjective ends in -e, the ending remains the same in the feminine singular :
c’est un ami drôle he’s a funny friend (m.) c’est une amie drôle she’s a funny friend (f.)
c’est un homme riche he’s a rich man c’est une femme riche she’s a rich woman
– if the singular form of an adjective ends in –s or –x, the plural ending stay the same :
Robert est gros Robert is fat ces garçons sont gros these boys are fat
es-tu français ? are you French ? (s.) êtes-vous français are you French (p.)
– if a plural subject or group contains one or more masculine objects or persons, the plural adjective is masculine :
Rachelle et David sont très grands Rachelle and David are very tall
ma mère, ma soeur et mon frère sont intelligents my mother, my sister and my brother are smart
– Also, some descriptive adjectives have irregular forms :
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
| cher | chère | dear ; expansive |
| gentil | gentille | nice |
| gros | grosse | big ; fat |
| long | longue | long |
| naïf | naïve | naive |
| paresseux | paresseuse | lazy |
| sérieux | sérieuse | serious |
| travailleur | travailleuse | hardworking |
| vieux | vieille | old ; ancient |
Adjectives of color :
If you don’t know the colors in French you can have a look here ! Here’s what you need to know about adjectives of color :
– They normally follow the noun and agree with it in gender and number :
un chat gris a grey cat
des chemises bleues blue shirts
des robes rouges red dresses
– Two adjectives of color, blanc (white) and violet (purple) have irregular feminine forms blanc becomes blanche and violet becomes violette :
un chat blanc a white cat
une chemise blanche a white shirt
un chapeau violet a purple hat
une voiture violette a purple car
– Adjectives of color ending in silent -e (jaune, rouge, rose) are spelled the same in both masculine and feminine :
un canapé rouge a red couch
une voiture rouge a red car
– Two adjectives of color (marron and orange) are invariable in gender and number : des chaussures marron (f.pl.) brown shoes
Adjectives that precede the noun
As we’ve just seen, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun, but the following adjectives usually precede it :
| autre
beau bon grand gros |
other
beautiful good tall big, fat |
haut
jeune nouveau petit vieux |
high
young new small, little old |
Examples :
un beau garcon a beautiful/ handsome boy
une bonne amie a good friend (f)
un gros chien a big dog
une vieille voiture an old car
In addition, ordinal numbers always precede the noun :
le premier (1er) jour the first (1st) day
le seizième (16ème) siècle the sixteenth (16th) century
Beau, nouveau and vieux
The adjectives beau (beautiful), nouveau (new) and vieux (old) are irregular : each has a second masculine singular form that is used before a vowel sound or mute h : beau becomes bel ; nouveau becomes nouvel ; vieux becomes vieil
un beau livre (a beautiful book) un bel appartement (a beautiful apartment)
un nouveau chapeau ( a new hat) un nouvel ami (a new friend)
un vieux téléphone (an old phone) un vieil ordinateur (an old computer)
But this rule only applies to the masculine singular form of beau, nouveau and vieux. The masculine plural and the feminine singular and plural are regular and only have one form :
des beaux appartements
des nouveaux amis
des vieux ordinateurs
“Magic” adjectives
A few adjectives that usually precede nouns can also follow them. This change of position causes a change in meaning sometimes :
mon ancienne maison my previous house
une maison ancienne an old house
une chère amie a dear friend
une voiture chère an expansive car
un pauvre étudiant an unfortunate student
un étudiant pauvre a poor (not rich) student
Now that you know how French adjectives work you should improve your vocabulary and learn more adjectives by clicking here !