Understanding how adjectives and past participles work in intermediate French is really important for making correct sentences. Let’s make this easier to understand with some examples.

Adjective Agreement

In French, adjectives must match the gender and number of the nouns they describe. This means that if you’re talking about a group of girls, you need to use a feminine plural adjective.

Examples:

• Singular form:
  • Masculine: un homme intelligent (an intelligent man)
  • Feminine: une femme intelligente (an intelligent woman)
• Plural form:
  • Masculine plural: des hommes intelligents (intelligent men)
  • Feminine plural: des femmes intelligentes (intelligent women)

Past Participle Agreement

The rules for past participles can be a little more complicated. When you use the helper verb "être," the past participle needs to match the subject. But with "avoir," it only matches if a direct object comes before the verb.

Examples with "Être":

• Elle est allée (She went) - feminine singular
• Ils sont allés (They went) - masculine plural
• Elles sont allées (They went) - feminine plural

In these cases, the past participle “allé” changes to agree with the subject’s gender and number.

Examples with "Avoir":

• J'ai mangé (I ate) - no agreement here
• J'ai mangé les pommes. (I ate the apples.) - Since the direct object “les pommes” (feminine plural) comes before the verb, it changes to: J'ai mangées (I ate them).

Key Points to Remember:

1. Adjective Agreement:

   • Match the gender and number to the noun. For example, "cute" becomes mignon for boys and mignonne for girls.

2. Past Participle Agreement:

   • With "être": Always make it agree with the subject.
   • With "avoir": Make it agree only if the direct object comes before the past participle.

By getting these agreements right, you will improve how clearly you speak and write in French. Keep practicing, and it will soon feel natural!