Adjective agreement and position
A1 L'accord et la place de l'adjectif 8 / 52
In short
A French adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes, and most adjectives come after the noun. A small group of short, common adjectives (the BAGS set) come before it.
The rule
An adjective changes its ending to match its noun. Unlike English, where “big” never changes, French has up to four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, feminine plural.
Agreement in gender and number
- Feminine: the basic rule is to add -e to the masculine form: grand -> grande, petit -> petite.
- Plural: add -s to the singular form: grand -> grands, grande -> grandes.
- An adjective already ending in -e (no accent) does not change in the feminine: un homme calme, une femme calme.
- An adjective already ending in -s or -x does not change in the masculine plural: un cours français, des cours français; un enfant heureux, des enfants heureux. An adjective in -eau adds -x instead: beau -> beaux, nouveau -> nouveaux.
- Some endings transform in the feminine: -eux -> -euse (heureux -> heureuse), -f -> -ve (sportif -> sportive), -er -> -ère (cher -> chère), and some double the consonant: bon -> bonne, gros -> grosse.
- Mixed groups: if a group has at least one masculine noun, the adjective is masculine plural: Marie et Paul sont contents.
Note the two-word noun phrase agrees fully: une petite voiture rouge (feminine singular on both adjectives).
Most adjectives placed after the noun
Most descriptive adjectives - colour, shape, nationality, and longer adjectives - follow the noun:
- Colour: une voiture rouge, un chat noir.
- Nationality / origin: un film français, une ville espagnole.
- Shape / type: une table ronde, un livre intéressant.
BAGS adjectives placed before the noun
A short list of very common adjectives comes before the noun. Remember them with BAGS:
- B - Beauty: beau, joli -> un beau jardin.
- A - Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau -> une jeune fille.
- G - Goodness (and its opposite): bon, mauvais, meilleur -> un bon repas.
- S - Size: grand, petit, gros, long -> une grande maison.
Three of these have a special form before a masculine noun starting with a vowel sound: beau -> bel, nouveau -> nouvel, vieux -> vieil: un bel homme, un nouvel ami, un vieil hôtel.
Forms & patterns
Regular adjective (grand):
| Number | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | grand | grande |
| Plural | grands | grandes |
Common irregular feminine patterns:
| Masculine | Feminine | Ending rule |
|---|---|---|
| heureux | heureuse | -eux -> -euse |
| sportif | sportive | -f -> -ve |
| cher | chère | -er -> -ère |
| bon | bonne | double the -n |
| blanc | blanche | -c -> -che |
| long | longue | -g -> -gue |
| beau | belle | irregular |
BAGS adjectives with the special pre-vowel form:
| Masc. before consonant | Masc. before vowel | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| beau | bel | belle |
| nouveau | nouvel | nouvelle |
| vieux | vieil | vieille |
Examples
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| une petite maison | a small house |
| des livres intéressants | interesting books |
| une voiture rouge | a red car |
| un bon restaurant | a good restaurant |
| une grande ville française | a big French city |
| un bel appartement | a beautiful apartment |
| Elle est heureuse et sportive. | She is happy and sporty. |
| Les fleurs sont blanches. | The flowers are white. |
Common mistakes
- une maison grand -> une grande maison - size is a BAGS adjective and agrees: grande before a feminine noun.
- une voiture rouge et petit -> une petite voiture rouge - both adjectives take the feminine, and petit goes before the noun.
- un nouveau homme -> un nouvel homme - use nouvel before a masculine vowel sound.
- des chats noir -> des chats noirs - the adjective must also take the plural -s.
- une film français -> un film français - film is masculine, so no feminine -e is added.
- ils sont content -> ils sont contents - the adjective agrees with a plural subject.
Tips
- Ask two questions: what gender/number is the noun? (agreement) and is it a BAGS word? (position).
- Default position is after the noun; only the short BAGS set goes before.
- If a group of people or things is mixed, choose the masculine plural.
- Learn beau/bel/belle, nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle, vieux/vieil/vieille as a block - the middle form is only for a masculine vowel sound.
- Adjectives ending in -e (no accent) look the same in masculine and feminine: rouge, jaune, jeune, facile.
- When in doubt, say the feminine out loud: the extra -e often makes a silent consonant audible (grand vs grande).