Adjective Agreement in Gender and Number in French

In French, adjectives (words that describe nouns) need to match the nouns they describe. This means they have to agree in two ways: gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This agreement helps us know how to write and say adjectives correctly in a sentence.

Gender Agreement

1. Masculine Adjectives: These adjectives usually stay the same when they talk about masculine nouns.

   • Example: un chat noir (a black cat - masculine)

2. Feminine Adjectives: To change to the feminine form, we often add an "-e" to the masculine form, but there are some exceptions.

   • Example: une chatte noire (a black cat - feminine)

Number Agreement

1. Singular Adjectives: These adjectives don't change when they describe a singular noun, no matter the gender.

   • Example: un livre intéressant (an interesting book - masculine)
   • une idée intéressante (an interesting idea - feminine)

2. Plural Adjectives: To make adjectives plural, we usually add an "-s" at the end.

   • Example: des livres intéressants (interesting books - masculine plural)
   • des idées intéressantes (interesting ideas - feminine plural)

Common Adjectives and their Forms

Here are some common adjectives, along with their different forms:

• grand (big)

  • Masculine Singular: grand
  • Feminine Singular: grande
  • Masculine Plural: grands
  • Feminine Plural: grandes

• petit (small)

  • Masculine Singular: petit
  • Feminine Singular: petite
  • Masculine Plural: petits
  • Feminine Plural: petites

• beau (handsome)

  • Masculine Singular: beau
  • Feminine Singular: belle
  • Masculine Plural: beaux
  • Feminine Plural: belles

• vieux (old)

  • Masculine Singular: vieux
  • Feminine Singular: vieille
  • Masculine Plural: vieux
  • Feminine Plural: vieilles

• jeune (young)

  • Masculine Singular: jeune
  • Feminine Singular: jeune
  • Masculine Plural: jeunes
  • Feminine Plural: jeunes

Sample Sentences

• Il y a un grand arbre. (There is a big tree.)

• Elle a une grande maison. (She has a big house.)

• Ils ont des vieux livres. (They have old books.)

• Elles sont jeunes et belles. (They are young and beautiful.)

By practicing these rules, you can get better at using adjectives correctly in French!