Adjective Agreement in French: Rules and Examples

In French, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).

This is different from English, where adjectives usually stay the same.

Understanding adjective agreement is essential for building correct sentences in French.

Let’s go through the rules step by step with plenty of examples.

---

1. Basic Rule of Adjective Agreement

👉 Adjectives agree with the noun, not with the person speaking.

• un livre intéressant → an interesting book (masc. sing.)

• une histoire intéressante → an interesting story (fem. sing.)

• des livres intéressants → interesting books (masc. pl.)

• des histoires intéressantes → interesting stories (fem. pl.)

Tip: Usually, you add -e for feminine, -s for plural.

---

2. Adjectives Ending in -e (No Change in Feminine)

If an adjective already ends in -e, it doesn’t change in the feminine form.

• un homme sympathique → a nice man

• une femme sympathique → a nice woman

Plural forms still take -s:

• des hommes sympathiques

• des femmes sympathiques

---

3. Common Endings and Their Changes

A) Adjectives Ending in -f → -ve (feminine)

• sportif → sportive (sporty)

• actif → active (active)

B) Adjectives Ending in -x → -se

• heureux → heureuse (happy)

• sérieux → sérieuse (serious)

C) Adjectives Ending in -eur → -euse

• travailleur → travailleuse (hard-working)

• menteur → menteuse (liar)

⚠️ Some -eur adjectives become -rice:

• acteur → actrice

• directeur → directrice

D) Adjectives Ending in -er → -ère

• cher → chère (dear/expensive)

• fier → fière (proud)

E) Adjectives Ending in -el, -eil, -il, -on, -en, -et

Often double the final consonant + -e in the feminine.

• cruel → cruelle

• bon → bonne

• ancien → ancienne

• mignon → mignonne

---

4. Irregular Adjectives

Some adjectives don’t follow the usual rules:

• beau → belle (beautiful)

• nouveau → nouvelle (new)

• vieux → vieille (old)

• blanc → blanche (white)

• fou → folle (crazy)

• long → longue (long)

---

5. Position of Adjectives

Most adjectives come after the noun:

• un livre intéressant → an interesting book

But some short and common adjectives come before the noun (often remembered as BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size):

• un petit chien → a small dog

• une belle maison → a beautiful house

• un jeune homme → a young man

---

6. Examples in Sentences

• C’est une voiture rouge. → It’s a red car.

• Il a un appartement spacieux. → He has a spacious apartment.

• Mes amies sont gentilles. → My (female) friends are kind.

• Ces garçons sont intelligents. → These boys are intelligent.

• Elle porte une robe chère. → She is wearing an expensive dress.

---

✅ Quick Recap

• Add -e for feminine, -s for plural.

• Special changes: -f → -ve, -x → -se, -eur → -euse/-rice, -er → -ère.

• Some adjectives are irregular (beau → belle, vieux → vieille).

• Adjectives usually come after the noun, except BANGS adjectives (beauty, age, number, goodness, size).

---

🎯 Practice Exercise

Translate into French:

1. A happy woman.

2. Two serious students (masculine).

3. Some old houses.

4. A new idea.

5. My friends are intelligent.

---

Conclusion

Mastering adjective agreement in French is essential for writing and speaking correctly.

With practice, you’ll naturally remember to adjust adjectives for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural nouns.

👉 Practice tip: Each time you learn a new adjective, write it in all four forms (masc. sing., fem. sing., masc. pl., fem. pl.) to reinforce the pattern.

---

Useful links:

• The 100 Most Common French Adjectives
• Possessive Adjectives in French: Explanation and Examples
• Feminine Nouns and Adjectives in French: Rules, Examples, and Tips

TAGS:

• Adjective agreement in French
• French grammar adjectives rules
• Feminine and masculine adjectives in French
• French adjective endings examples
• How to use adjectives in French

©Frenchlanguagebasics.com