The descriptive adjective

The descriptive adjective is used to provide additional information about or describe a noun (a person, an object, a place, etc.). In French, it always agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun it accompanies.

1. Formation of the Feminine

The general rule is to add an -e to the masculine form.

• General rule:
  • Examples: petit → petite, grand → grande, américain → américaine.
• Adjectives that already end in -e in the masculine: They do not change in the feminine.
  • Examples: un garçon facile → une fille facile, un sac rouge → une fleur rouge.

Common spelling changes (A1):

• -en / -on → -enne / -onne: italien → italienne, bon → bonne.
• -er → -ère: premier → première, cher → chère.
• -f → -ve: actif → active, sportif → sportive.
• -eux → -euse: heureux → heureuse, dangereux → dangereuse.
• -eur → -euse (or -trice): travailleur → travailleuse, menteur → menteuse, créateur → créatrice.
  • (Common exception: supérieur, inférieur, meilleur, majeur, mineur simply add an -e → meilleure, supérieure).

Very common irregular adjectives:

• beau → belle
• nouveau → nouvelle
• vieux → vieille

2. Formation of the Plural

The general rule is to add an -s to the singular form (masculine or feminine).

• General rule:
  • Examples: petit → petits, petite → petites.
• Adjectives ending in -s or -x in the masculine singular: They do not change in the masculine plural.
  • Examples: un livre gris → des livres gris, un homme heureux → des hommes heureux.
• Adjectives ending in -al: They become -aux in the masculine plural.
  • Example: national → nationaux.

3. Position of the Adjective

Unlike in some other languages, most adjectives are placed after the noun in French.

• In general (after the noun): color, nationality, shape, religion.
  • Examples: une voiture rouge, un étudiant espagnol, une table ronde.
• Short and very common adjectives (before the noun): petit, grand, gros, bon, mauvais, beau, nouveau, jeune, vieux.
  • Examples: un petit chat, un grand appartement, une belle journée.

4. Special Case: Color Adjectives Derived from Nouns

As a general rule, color adjectives agree in gender and number (une chaussure noire, des yeux bleus).

However, color adjectives that come from nouns (a fruit, an object, a natural element) are invariable: they take neither -e in the feminine nor -s in the plural.

• Common examples (A1):
  • marron (chestnut) → des chaussures marron (no “s”)
  • orange (fruit) → des t-shirts orange (no “s”)
  • chocolat → des vestes chocolat

(Common exception to learn later: rose, mauve, violet normally agree in gender and number).