Indefinite adjectives are used to give an indication about an imprecise quantity of people or things: quelques amis(a few friends), plusieurs manifestants(several protesters), toutes les roses(all the roses).
Do you know which indefinite adjectives are always followed by a plural noun? Or which indefinite adjectives are invariable or variable? In this post, we’ll review the invariable French indefinite adjectives, as well as the few variable indefinite adjectives. Let’s take a look.
Suivez le guide !
Follow the guide!
Use an indefinite adjective in French for the purpose of describing an entity without being too specific. Indefinite adjectives are words like “a few,” “each,” or “all” in English. You can use indefinite adjectives to express a vague quantity, as with quelques (some, a few).
In all cases, the nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. expressing the entity always follows the indefinite adjective.
On a eu quelques averses aujourd’hui.
If there is not a noun after the indefinite adjective, then what you’re looking at is probably a French indefinite pronoun! Indefinite pronouns replace nouns, but indefinite adjectives describe them. Now that you know the difference, let’s get into the details!
There are differences in the French indefinite adjectives, as some are invariable and some agree with the noun that follows. First let’s take a look at the invariable ones.
The invariable indefinite adjectives in French are chaque, quelques, and plusieurs. “Invariable” indefinite adjectives are adjectives where there is no agreementNo definition set for agreementLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. with the noun they modify. This means that the spelling remains the same for masculine or feminine nouns. The invariable French indefinite adjectives will always be singularNo definition set for singularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (chaque) or pluralNo definition set for pluralLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (quelques, plusieurs), so you won’t need to worry about changing the number of the adjective either. Let’s take a look at chaque first!
Chaque(each, every) expresses a total: it represents all the elements of a total, but taken separately. It is always followed by a singular noun.
Il faut que chaque candidat complète le formulaire de candidature.
Each candidate must complete the application form.
A common mistake I hear students make is using chaque with a plural noun, as in:
❌ chaque deux semaines
Instead, the correct indefinite adjective to use in this case would be:
✅ toutes les deux semaines
every two weeks
Remember, if you wanted to use the indefinite adjective chaque, the following noun needs to be singular:
✅ chaque semaine
every week
Quelques(some, a few) and plusieurs(several) express a vague quantity. They are always followed by a plural noun.
Dans ce musée, on peut voir quelques tableaux de Claude Monet.
In this museum, you can see some paintings by Claude Monet.
Quelque in the singular form is rarely used. However, you may see it in fixed expressions, such as il y a quelque temps(some time ago), en quelque sorte(in a way), and quelque part(somewhere).
It is also the equivalent to the English, “some (nonspecific) + singular noun.”
Il l'a lu dans quelque magazine auquel il est abonné.
He read it in some magazine he has a subscription for.
Finally, quelque is used in front of numbers to say “about” or “around.”
Quelque 230 étudiants ont participé au concours.
Approximately 230 students participated in the competition.
That’s it for the invariable indefinite adjectives. The majority of indefinite adjectives agree with the noun. Let’s see how this works.
Most of the French indefinite adjectives are variable, meaning they have to agreeNo definition set for agreeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in either genderNo definition set for genderLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (with singular nouns) or in gender and numberNo definition set for numberLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. (with plural nouns). The French indefinite adjective aucun(e)(none, not any) is always followed by a singular noun, so it only agrees in gender. Let’s take a look:
Aucun / aucune(none, not any) expresses a quantity of zero. It is always singular, but will agree with the gender of the noun: aucun for a masculine noun and aucune for a feminine noun.
Fabien a sauté du plongeoir sans aucune hésitation.
Fabien jumped off the diving board without any hesitation.
Aucun and aucune are often used as part of a negative structure using ne(not), meaning "not...any, none."
Il n’a aucun ami.
He doesn’t have any friends.
Nous n’avons aucune envie de venir.
We have no desire to come.
Other indefinite adjectives in French can only be followed with plural nouns:
Divers(various, numerous) is only followed by a plural noun. Can you guess its feminine form? The answer is in the example below.
Diverses études l’ont prouvé !
Various studies proved it!
Now, it’s time to look at the French indefinite adjectives that agree both in gender and number with the noun and can accompany both singular or plural and masculine or feminine nouns. We’ll look at two: tout(all, every) and certain(some, certain).
tout(all, the whole, every)
Tout is the most famous of all indefinite adjectives that agree in gender and number with the noun. It represents a quantity as a whole.
Form of tout | Example |
|---|---|
tout + masculine singular noun | Il aurait acheté tout le magasin. He would have bought the entire shop! |
toute + feminine singular noun | J’ai toute la collection de cartes des joueurs de l’équipe de France de foot. I have the whole collection of cards of the French football team. |
tous + masculine plural noun | On a classé tous les documents. We have filed all the documents. |
toutes + feminine plural noun | Toutes les invitations sont envoyées. All the invitations are sent out. |
As you can see in the above examples, you must always use a definite article (le, la, les), a demonstrative adjective (ce, cette, ...) or a possessive adjective (mon, ton, ...) before the noun when using tout:
Tous les hommes portaient un costume.
All the men wore suits.
Tout can be used directly before a singular noun, as a determinerNo definition set for determinerLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. It means something like "all + plural noun" in English:
Tout homme doit porter un costume.
All men (lit. man) must wear a suit.
Nous accepterons toute personne qui présentera un billet valide.
We will accept all people (lit. all person) who present a valid ticket.
You can also use tout with a time expression to indicate how often something happens:
Tous les mardis, je fais du yoga. 🧘
Every Tuesday, I do yoga.
Note that tout can also be used as an adverb in French.
Certain(e) / certain(e)s can be followed by both plural and singular nouns and will always agree in gender and number with that noun.
The singular form, certain(e) takes various meanings, depending on the type of noun it modifies (much like the word “certain + singular noun” in English!)
In front of a proper nounNo definition set for proper nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., it means we don’t really know who a person is:
Un certain M. Schmidt a appelé.
A certain Mr Schmidt called.
With an abstract nounNo definition set for abstract nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., it means a rather high quantity:
C’était un homme d’un certain âge.
It was a man of a certain age.
Before a common nounNo definition set for common nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., it helps us distinguish someone or something specific from a whole:
À un certain moment, j’ai cru qu’il allait s’énerver.
At a certain time, I thought he was going to get angry.
Placed after the noun, certain is an adjectiveNo definition set for adjectiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. which means “sure” or “unquestionable.”
Elle a rencontré un succès certain dans sa jeunesse.
She was met with unquestionable success in her youth.
The plural form, certains(some, certain) is used to express an imprecise quantity. It is always followed by a plural noun and its feminine form is certaines.
Certaines personnes ne regardent que des documentaires.
Some people only watch documentaries.
Head to the list of French indefinite adjectives to discover even more indefinite adjectives with examples of how to use them in a sentence.
You are now ready to use indefinite adjectives! Don’t forget to read the recap and practice your indefinite adjective skills with some exercises!
When you use indefinite adjectives in French, keep the following tips in mind:
Indefinite adjectives are useful to give an imprecise quantity of people or things.
Indefinite adjectives are always placed before the noun.
Chaque(each) can only be followed by a singular noun.
Quelques(some, a few) and plusieurs(several) are only followed by plural nouns.
Some indefinite adjectives agree in gender only: aucun / aucune(none, not any), divers / diverses(various).
Some agree in gender and number: tout / toute / tous / toutes(all), certain / certaine / certains / certaines(some, certain).
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