Grammar / A1 : Beginner / Descriptive adjectives
Descriptive adjectives
Agreement in gender and number, position before/after the noun.
Four forms, fewer sounds than you think
Every French adjective has four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, feminine plural. That could feel like a lot: but in most cases only two or three of those forms sound distinct from each other. The rest of the variation lives in writing. The patterns behind the changes are regular enough that once you know them, you can predict the form of almost any new adjective you encounter.
There is also a positional rule that surprises most learners: in French, the majority of adjectives come after the noun they describe, not before it. A blue car is une voiture bleue, not une bleue voiture. This lesson covers both the agreement and the positioning.
1. Gender agreement
The default rule: add -e for the feminine
When a masculine adjective ends in a consonant, the feminine is formed by adding -e. That added -e causes the final consonant (which was silent in the masculine) to be pronounced in the feminine. This is how French signals the difference between masculine and feminine in speech.
| Masculine | Feminine | Note |
|---|---|---|
| grand | grande | the d is silent in masc., pronounced in fem. |
| petit | petite | the t is silent in masc., pronounced in fem. |
| français | française | the s becomes /z/ in the feminine |
| intelligent | intelligente | the t is pronounced in both, but clearly audible in fem. |
| amusant | amusante | |
| content | contente |
Adjectives already ending in -e: no change
If the masculine already ends in -e, the feminine form is identical. These adjectives have only two forms: one singular and one plural.
rouge → rouge (red) · jeune → jeune (young) · calme → calme (calm)
un livre rouge / une voiture rouge · un homme jeune / une femme jeune
Patterns with specific endings
Several endings follow their own consistent pattern for the feminine. These are not exceptions; they are sub-rules that apply to entire families of adjectives.
| Masculine ending | Feminine ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -er | -ère | premier / première (first) · dernier / dernière (last) · léger / légère (light) |
| -eux | -euse | heureux / heureuse (happy) · sérieux / sérieuse (serious) · curieux / curieuse (curious) |
| -if | -ive | actif / active (active) · sportif / sportive (sporty) · naïf / naïve (naive) |
| -al | -ale | normal / normale · général / générale · original / originale |
| -ien | -ienne | coréen / coréenne (Korean) · ancien / ancienne (former/old) |
| -on | -onne | bon / bonne (good) · mignon / mignonne (cute) |
| -el | -elle | naturel / naturelle · formel / formelle |
| -et | -ète | discret / discrète (discreet) · concret / concrète (concrete) |
2. Irregular adjectives
A small group of very common adjectives are fully irregular in the feminine. They must be learnt individually. Several of them are among the most frequently used adjectives in the language, so encountering them in reading and conversation is the most effective way to remember them.
| Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Special masculine before vowel | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| beau (beautiful) | belle | bel | un beau garçon / une belle femme / un bel homme |
| nouveau (new) | nouvelle | nouvel | un nouveau livre / une nouvelle idée / un nouvel appartement |
| vieux (old) | vieille | vieil | un vieux monsieur / une vieille maison / un vieil ami |
| blanc (white) | blanche | - | un mur blanc / une robe blanche |
| long (long) | longue | - | un long voyage / une longue journée |
| doux (soft, gentle) | douce | - | un tissu doux / une voix douce |
| faux (false) | fausse | - | un faux document / une fausse idée |
💡 bel, nouvel, vieil are used only in masculine singular before a word starting with a vowel or silent h. They exist purely for phonetic reasons. French avoids the collision of two vowel sounds: beau ami would be awkward to say, so bel ami is used instead.
3. Number agreement (plural)
Forming the plural of an adjective generally follows the same logic as forming the plural of a noun. Most adjectives simply add -s. Several patterns involve a different change.
| Rule | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default: add -s | grand → grands | grande → grandes | de grands livres / de grandes maisons |
| Already ends in -s or -x: no change | gris → gris | grise → grises | des murs gris / des voitures grises |
| -eux: no change in masc. pl. | heureux → heureux | heureuse → heureuses | des enfants heureux / des femmes heureuses |
| -al → -aux in masc. pl. | normal → normaux | normale → normales | des cas normaux / des situations normales |
| -eau → -eaux in masc. pl. | beau → beaux | belle → belles | de beaux tableaux / de belles photos |
💡 The plural -s is never pronounced in French. The only way to hear the plural is through liaison: des grands enfants (the s of grands links to the vowel of enfants). This is another reason why reading aloud consistently helps with French.
4. Position of adjectives
In English and Chinese, adjectives almost always come before the noun. French is different: the large majority of adjectives come after the noun. This is one of the first positional habits to build, because placing adjectives before the noun is a very audible mistake.
⚠ Most French adjectives go AFTER the noun.
❌ une intéressante ville · ✓ une ville intéressante (an interesting city)
❌ un rouge stylo · ✓ un stylo rouge (a red pen)
❌ une intelligente étudiante · ✓ une étudiante intelligente (an intelligent student)
These categories of adjectives almost always go after the noun:
Colours: une robe rouge, un ciel bleu, des chaussures noires
Shape: une table ronde, un visage ovale
Nationality / origin: un film français, une voiture japonaise
Religion / political: un parti socialiste, une église catholique
Descriptive qualities: un homme intelligent, une femme sérieuse, un repas délicieux
Adjectives that go before the noun
A smaller group of common adjectives always or usually precede the noun. Most of them are short and among the most frequent words in the language. A useful (if imperfect) memory aid groups them by meaning: Beauty, Age, Goodness and Size.
| Category | Adjectives | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty | beau/belle, joli(e) | un beau paysage, une jolie robe |
| Age | jeune, vieux/vieille, nouveau/nouvelle, ancien/ancienne | un vieux château, une nouvelle voiture, un jeune homme |
| Goodness | bon/bonne, mauvais(e), gentil/gentille | un bon repas, une mauvaise idée |
| Size | grand(e), petit(e), gros/grosse, long/longue, court(e), haut(e) | une grande ville, un petit appartement, une longue route |
💡 Some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun. These cases will become clearer with reading practice, but here are the most common ones to know:
un grand homme (a great man) vs un homme grand (a tall man)
mon ancien appartement (my former flat) vs un appartement ancien (an old flat)
une pauvre femme (a poor unfortunate woman) vs une femme pauvre (a woman with no money)
ma propre voiture (my own car) vs une voiture propre (a clean car)
5. Agreement with être
When an adjective follows the verb être (and other linking verbs like sembler, paraître, rester, devenir), it still agrees with the subject of the verb, not with any other noun in the sentence. This is called a predicative adjective, and it works the same way as an attributive adjective; the subject's gender and number are what matter.
| Subject | Example |
|---|---|
| Masculine singular | Le film est long. (The film is long.) |
| Feminine singular | La journée est longue. (The day is long.) |
| Masculine plural | Les repas sont bons. (The meals are good.) |
| Feminine plural | Les photos sont belles. (The photos are beautiful.) |
| Mixed group (at least one masc.) | Pierre et Marie sont contents. (Pierre and Marie are happy.) (masculine form) |
Elle est fatiguée. (She is tired.) Il est fatigué. (He is tired.)
Tu as l'air sérieux. (You look serious.) Tu as l'air sérieuse. (if the speaker is female)
Nous sommes prêts. (We are ready.) Nous sommes prêtes. (all-female group)
La soupe est chaude. (The soup is hot.) Le café est chaud. (The coffee is hot.)
6. Adjectives in context
Here are two short passages using adjectives in different positions. Read them to see how agreement and position work together naturally.
C'est une petite ville française. Les rues sont calmes et les maisons sont anciennes. Il y a un vieux marché central et une belle église. Les habitants sont accueillants et la nourriture est délicieuse.
It is a small French town. The streets are calm and the houses are old. There is an old central market and a beautiful church. The inhabitants are welcoming and the food is delicious.
Mon nouveau collègue est grand et sympa. Il a une voix douce et il est toujours de bonne humeur. Sa fille est petite mais très intelligente. Ils habitent dans un bel appartement moderne.
My new colleague is tall and friendly. He has a soft voice and is always in a good mood. His daughter is small but very intelligent. They live in a beautiful modern flat.
7. Key points
✓ Every adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
✓ Default feminine: add -e to the masculine. The added -e causes the final consonant to be pronounced.
✓ Adjectives already ending in -e do not change in the feminine.
✓ Key patterns: -er → -ère / -eux → -euse / -if → -ive / -al → -ale / -ien → -ienne / -on → -onne
✓ Irregular forms to know: beau/belle, nouveau/nouvelle, vieux/vieille, blanc/blanche, long/longue
✓ bel, nouvel, vieil before masculine words starting with a vowel or silent h.
✓ Default plural: add -s. Exceptions: -eux → -eux (no change) / -al → -aux / -eau → -eaux
✓ Most adjectives go AFTER the noun. Exceptions: Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size adjectives go before.
✓ After être, the adjective still agrees with the subject.