Making Adjectives Match in French

In French, adjectives need to match the nouns they describe in two main ways: gender and number. Let's break this down so it’s easier to understand.

1. Gender Agreement

• Masculine nouns: Adjectives usually stay the same. For example, you would say un livre intéressant which means "an interesting book."

• Feminine nouns: You add an -e to the adjective. For instance, you say une fille intéressante, meaning "an interesting girl."

Watch out: Some adjectives change completely. For example, beau changes to belle.

2. Number Agreement

• Singular nouns: Use the normal form for masculine or the feminine form for feminine nouns. For example:
  • un chat noir means "a black cat."
  • une chatte noire means "a black female cat."
• Plural nouns: You add an -s to the adjective. Here are some examples:
  • des chats noirs means "black cats."
  • des chattes noires means "black female cats."

Quick Rules to Remember

| Gender | Singular | Plural | |------------|----------------------------|------------------------------| | Masculine | Adjective (no change) | Adjective + s | | Feminine | Adjective + e | Adjective + es |

Sample Sentences

1. Le garçon est intelligent. (The boy is smart.)
2. Les filles sont gentilles. (The girls are nice.)
3. Un joli paysage. (A pretty landscape.)
4. Des jolies fleurs. (Pretty flowers.)

When you learn how to make adjectives match, you make your French more correct and beautiful!