Adjectives

Agreement

__Adjectival agreement __

French adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. This means that the exact shape of the adjective will change, depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine (gender) and singular or plural (number).

masc sing - petit

fem sing - petite

masc pl - petits

fem pl - petites

The feminine form of an adjective is often created by adding an ‘e’ to the masculine form:

_grand – grande allemand – allemande _

The plural form is most often formed by simply adding an –s to the masculine or feminine form:

grands - grandes allemands – allemandes



A number of masculine adjectives already end in an –e. In these cases, the feminine form remains the same. This also means the two plurals will look the same:

masc sing - calme

fem sing - calme

masc pl - calmes

fem pl - calmes

There are a few other regular patterns of change between masculine and feminine adjectives:

bon – bonne

ancien - ancienne

gentil – gentille

affreux – affreuse

heureux - heureuse

sportif – sportive

neuf - neuve

cher – chère__ __

Translate: 'The small, happy girl has a big dog'
la petite fille heureuse a un grand chien
Explanation: petit becomes petite and heureux becomes heureuse to agree with the feminine noun 'la fille' grand remains in the masculine singular form

Position

Position

In English, adjectives tend to go before the noun they describe,in French, they almost all go after the noun.

There is a small group of adjectives, however, that normally precede the noun. These adjectives may be categorized as adjectives of Beauty, Age, Numbers, Goodness, and Size (BANGS) (!)

How would you know if an adjective needs to precede the noun?
Your answer should include: It will describe beauty / age / numbers / goodness or size

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives – how to say who something belongs to

Adjectives, figure 1

N.B. 1. his/her are the same – the masculine/feminine depends on the word that follows:

e.g. son père = his father or her father

N.B. 2. in French every noun needs a possessive, unlike English:

e.g. my brother and sister = mon frère et ma soeur

Translate: 'My car is new but their car is old'
ma voiture est nouvelle mais leur voiture est vieille

Comparisons

Comparisons

more …. than…. = plus …. que …..

Éric est plus intelligent que Steren.

Éric is more intelligent than Steren.

Whilst in English you add the suffix “er” to short adjectives, in French you can only use the phrase above.

Eg : Il est plus grand qu’elle.

He is taller than her.

less …. than…. = moins …. que …..

Benoît est moins bavard que Chloé.

Benoît is less chatty than Chloé.

as…. as…. = aussi …. que …..

Noah est aussi patient qu’Alice.

Noah is as patient as Alice.

How do you form a comparison in French?
use plus/moins/aussi + adjective + que

Superlatives

Superlatives

The most …/ the …est = le/la /les plus

Marc est le plus sportif.

Marc is the sportiest.

Lisa est la plus grande.

Lisa is the tallest.

Ils sont les plus intelligents.

They are the most intelligent.

The least … = le/la /les moins

Marc est le moins sportif.

Marc is the least sporty.

Lisa est la moins sportive.

Marc et Lisa sont les moins sportifs.

__The best … = le/la /les meilleurs __

Marc est le meilleur chanteur.

Marc is the best singer.

Lisa est la meilleure des deux.

Lisa is the best of the two.

Elles sont les meilleures de la classe.

Translate: 'My cat is the laziest'
Mon chat est le plus parasseux