How to use adjectives in French?

To use French , the adjective must agree in and with the it describes. Most of the time, adjectives will take an -e for feminine forms and an -s for plural nouns. Although the position of the adjective in the sentence varies, it is usually placed after the noun. Did you know that you can intensify or soften the tone of an adjective by using like très(very) and un peu(a little)? In this post, we'll review gender and number of adjectives, where they go in a sentence, and how to change the adjective’s tone. Keep reading to find out more!

To make adjectives agree in gender (masculine or feminine) in French, the gender of the adjective must match the gender of the noun it modifies. On your French learning journey, you will continue to expand your vocabulary as you learn to describe things and thoughts more accurately. By mastering the difference between masculine and feminine, you’ll also avoid some mocking smiles!

Because adjectives in French have to have the same gender of the noun they modify, you will often need to change the endings of the adjectives. Let’s learn three basic rules:

• Rule #1: Add -e

  If you describe someone or something feminine, most of the time just add -e to the masculine form of the adjective.

  masculinefeminine

  Mon collègue est américain et ma voisine est aussi américaine.

  My coworker is American and my female neighbor is also American.

  Masculine	Feminine	English
  grand	grande	big
  américain	américaine	American
  poli	polie	polite
  occupé	occupée	busy

  Pronunciation TIP

  Don’t pronounce the final consonants of masculine adjectives ending in -s, -d, or -t. The feminine ending -e allows you to pronounce the last consonant.

  Il est grand.

  /gra(n)_/

  He is big.

  Elle est grande.

  /gra(n)d/

  She is big.

• Rule #2: Different endings

  Sometimes you’ll need to add something extra to the adjective before the -e to make pronunciation easier and prettier in the feminine form! You may need to double the final or change the ending completely.

  Masculine	Feminine	English
  -ier premier	-ière première	first
  -ien canadien	-ienne canadienne	Canadian
  -if sportif	-ive sportive	sporty
  -ien canadien	-euse serieuse	serious
  -ien canadien	-lle gentille	kind, nice

  There are some irregular French feminine adjectives that are different from the patterns above!

• Rule #3: No change

  Here is the good news: sometimes, you don’t need to do anything! This happens when the adjective already ends in -e.

  Masculine -e	Feminine -e	English
  bizarre	bizarre	weird
  drôle	drôle	funny
  sympathique	sympathique	friendly

To make adjectives agree in number (singular or plural) in French, the adjective will need to change its endings, just like with gender. That is, if the noun is plural then the adjective is too! Let’s see how to make the adjectives plural. Like with gender, there are a few different ways to make a French adjective :

• Add -s (most of the time!)

  When describing more than one thing or person, you’ll generally need to add -s:

  Les pommes sont rondes.

  The apples are round.

• Other endings

  • A masculine adjective ending in -al changes to -aux:

    Ce tableau est original et ceux-là sont aussi originaux.

    This painting is original and those ones are also original.

  • A masculine adjective ending in -eau changes to -eaux:

    Ce tableau est beau et ceux-là sont aussi beaux.

    This painting is beautiful and those ones are also beautiful.

• No change! If the masculine adjective ends in -s or -x:

  Le canapé est gris et les fauteuils sont également gris.

  The sofa is gray and so are the armchairs.

Here’s a summary of the plural endings, including what the plural will look like for feminine forms of the adjectives:

Like with feminine adjectives, there are some irregular French plural forms!

Most of the time, French adjectives go after the noun. Here are the rules for where to position an adjective in the sentence:

• Rule #1: Unlike English, French adjectives come after the noun 90 percent of the time!

  nounadjective

  Mon collègue anglais a un ordinateur performant.

  My English coworker has an effective computer.

• Rule #2: A handful of adjectives, usually short words like jeune(young) and vieux(old), are placed before the noun. Check the table we created of French adjectives placed before the noun and learn them by heart!

  adjectivenoun

  Sa grande maison se trouve dans un petit village.

  Her big house is located in a small village.

  Tip

  These adjectives all have an antonym that also comes before the noun. So, if you remember that jeune comes before a noun, you'll know vieux will too!

  Important

  In front of an adjective, the des shortens to de.

  adjective

  Elle porte de belles chaussures et des lunettes originales.

  She is wearing beautiful shoes and original glasses.

• Rule #3: Nine euphonic adjectives

  What?! Don’t worry, you won’t have to pull out your euphonium in order to learn how these work. These adjectives, when placed before a noun starting with a or a , need to be altered to make pronunciation easier and prettier. This means that sometimes a feminine or masculine form of an adjective will change slightly if the noun it modifies begins with a vowel or mute h. Check the table below to learn them by heart:

  Euphonic adjectives		Regular form	In front of a vowel or mute h
  1.	ce → cet	ce jeune this young man	cet ado this teenager
  2.	ma → mon	ma copine my girlfriend	mon amie my good friend
  3.	ta → ton	ta routine your routine	ton habitude your habit
  4.	sa → son	sa noix her walnut	son amande her almond
  5.	nouveau → nouvel	un nouveau jour a new day	le nouvel an the new year
  6.	beau → bel	un beau portrait a beautiful portrait	un bel acteur a handsome actor
  7.	vieux → vieil	un vieux journal an old newspaper	un vieil album an old album
  8.	fou → fol (quite rare)	un amour fou passionate love	un fol amour passionate love
  9.	mou → mol (very rare)	un effort mou a weak effort	un mol effort a weak effort

  Check out our articles to learn more about French demonstrative adjectives like cet(this) and possessive adjectives like mon(my) and ton(your)

• Rule #4: Some adjectives mean something different when placed before or after the noun. For example:

  un homme grand(a tall man)vs. un grand homme(an admirable man)

  Check out this list with more French adjectives whose meaning changes depending on their position in the sentence.

To change the tone of an adjective in French, you can use adverbs to intensify or minimize the meaning of an adjective. For example:

You can study the adverbs below to become more precise when describing things or people and when sharing your opinion.

To master French adjectives, keep the following tips in mind:

• Add -e to French adjectives when describing something or someone feminine, and pronounce the last consonant before -e.

• Add -s to French adjectives when describing many things and people but do not pronounce it!

• Most of the time you will have a noun + adjective structure (the adjective will follow the noun).

• When intensifying your description, use an adverb: noun + adverb + adjective.

So, how do you feel? Are you starting to get the hang of French adjectives? If you would like to practice using French adjectives, take a look at our activities!