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Adjectives: agreement and position – GCSE French

Foundation and Higher · Grade 3

Making adjectives agree in gender and number, irregular patterns, invariable adjectives and where adjectives go.

Objectives

Explained

Agreement: feminine and plural

An adjective changes to match the noun: add -e for the feminine and -s for the plural. «un grand garçon», «une grande fille», «des grands garçons», «des grandes filles». If the adjective already ends in -e, it does not change for the feminine: «un livre facile», «une leçon facile». If it ends in -s or -x, it does not add s: «un gros chien», «des gros chiens», «un homme heureux», «des hommes heureux».

When the noun is feminine, say the final consonant: «grand» sounds different from «grande». Always check the noun first, then the adjective: «des étudiantes françaises», «mes amis sportifs», «ma petite sœur». A group of masculine and feminine nouns is masculine plural: «Mon père et ma mère sont grands.» Tap the words to hear them.

Irregular feminine patterns

Some endings change: -eux → -euse («heureux» / «heureuse»), -if → -ive («actif» / «active», «sportif» / «sportive»), -er → -ère («premier» / «première», «cher» / «chère»), -el → -elle («naturel» / «naturelle»), -en → -enne («moyen» / «moyenne»), -on → -onne («bon» / «bonne»), -et → -ète («complet» / «complète»), -c → -che («blanc» / «blanche»), -g → -gue («long» / «longue»).

Learn these everyday ones: «beau» / «belle» (and «bel» before a masculine vowel: «un bel homme»), «nouveau» / «nouvelle» («nouvel» before a vowel), «vieux» / «vieille» («vieil» before a vowel), «gentil» / «gentille», «doux» / «douce», «frais» / «fraîche», «public» / «publique», «fou» / «folle», «roux» / «rousse».

Check

What is the feminine of "sportif"?

  1. sportive
  2. sportife
  3. sportifie
Show answer

sportive Adjectives in -if change to -ive.

Irregular plurals

Adjectives in -eau add x: «beau» → «beaux», «nouveau» → «nouveaux». Adjectives in -al change to -aux: «principal» → «principaux», «national» → «nationaux», «original» → «originaux». Adjectives ending in -s or -x stay the same: «gros» → «gros», «heureux» → «heureux», «vieux» → «vieux», «frais» → «frais».

Exceptions to remember: «bleu» → «bleus» (add s) and «banal» → «banals». The feminine plural is regular: «belles», «nouvelles», «principales», «grosses». For example: «de beaux paysages» (beautiful landscapes), «les problèmes principaux», «des amis nationaux».

Adjectives that never change

Some adjectives do not agree: colours named after things («marron», «orange», «cerise», «kaki»), compound colours («bleu clair», «vert foncé», «bleu marine»), and some loan words and short forms: «super», «cool», «chic», «sympa». In an exam it is safer to say «sympathique», which agrees normally.

Examples: «des yeux marron», «une jupe orange», «des pulls bleu marine», «des chaussures vert clair». A good rule is: if the colour is a noun (a fruit, a nut) or has a second word, it does not change. Plain colours do agree: «une voiture rouge», «des voitures rouges».

Check

How do you say "She has brown eyes" (eye colour: marron)?

  1. Elle a les yeux marron.
  2. Elle a les yeux marrons.
  3. Elle a les yeux marronnes.
Show answer

Elle a les yeux marron. Marron is invariable because it is named after a thing, the chestnut.

Position: most adjectives come after

In French most adjectives come after the noun: «une voiture rouge», «un livre intéressant», «un garçon sympathique», «une fille française». This includes colours, nationalities, shapes, and adjectives of the participle type: «une porte fermée», «un jeu amusant».

A few short, common adjectives come before the noun. A helpful memory aid is BAGS: Beauty («beau», «joli»), Age («jeune», «vieux», «nouveau»), Goodness («bon», «mauvais», «gentil»), Size («grand», «petit», «gros», «long», «court», «haut»). Also «premier», «dernier», «autre», «même». For example: «un petit chat noir», «une belle maison blanche».

Position changes the meaning

Some adjectives change meaning with position: before the noun they are usually figurative, after the noun literal. «un ancien professeur» (a former teacher) / «un professeur ancien» (an old teacher); «ma propre chambre» (my own room) / «ma chambre propre» (my clean room); «un grand homme» (a great man) / «un homme grand» (a tall man); «un pauvre garçon» (a poor boy, to be pitied) / «un garçon pauvre» (a boy with no money); «la dernière semaine» (the last week of a series) / «la semaine dernière» (last week).

With two adjectives, put each in its normal place: «un petit chat noir», «une belle maison ancienne», «un bon film français». Two adjectives after the noun are joined with «et»: «un garçon grand et fort». Before a plural adjective in front of a noun, «des» becomes «de»: «de grands arbres», «de beaux paysages».

Check

What does "ma chambre propre" mean?

  1. my clean room
  2. my own room
  3. my private room
Show answer

my clean room Propre after the noun means clean; before the noun it means own.

Describing people and things

«J'ai une petite sœur blonde et sportive. Elle a de grands yeux verts et de longs cheveux. Mon frère est grand, mince et un peu timide, mais il est très gentil. Nous habitons dans une vieille maison avec un joli jardin. Mes parents sont heureux parce que nous avons de bons voisins. L'année dernière, nous avons visité de beaux châteaux dans un pays très chaud.»

Look at the agreement: «petite sœur blonde et sportive» (feminine), «de grands yeux verts» (masculine plural), «de longs cheveux» (de before a plural adjective), «mes parents sont heureux» (masculine plural, x ending), «de beaux châteaux» (x plural). About seventy words.

Exam tips: adjectives

Adjective agreement is one of the most common slips in writing. Check three things: Is the noun masculine or feminine? Is it singular or plural? Does the adjective go before or after? Then write it. In a translation, "my small red car" is «ma petite voiture rouge».

In listening, final consonants often tell you the feminine («grand» / «grande», «petit» / «petite»). In reading, an adjective before or after the noun can change the meaning, so read both words together. To avoid doubt in speaking, choose adjectives you know well, such as «grand», «petit», «bon», «gentil», «sympathique», «intéressant».

Check

Which sentence is right for "I have two small green bags"?

  1. J'ai deux petits sacs verts.
  2. J'ai deux sacs petits verts.
  3. J'ai deux petit sac vert.
Show answer

J'ai deux petits sacs verts. Petit goes before the noun and both adjectives agree with the plural sacs.

Key points

Worked examples

Example 1

Write in French: a big house, a small cat, a red car.

  1. Grand goes before: une grande maison.
  2. Petit goes before: un petit chat.
  3. Colours go after: une voiture rouge.

Answer: une grande maison, un petit chat, une voiture rouge

Common slips
  • Slip: une maison grande Size adjectives go before the noun.
  • Slip: un chat petit Size adjectives go before the noun.
  • Slip: une rouge voiture Colours go after the noun.

Example 2

Write in French: My sisters are tall and sporty.

  1. Mes sœurs is feminine plural.
  2. Grandes agrees with sœurs.
  3. Sportives is feminine plural.

Answer: Mes sœurs sont grandes et sportives.

Common slips
  • Slip: mes sœurs sont The verb is plural: sont.
  • Slip: grands The adjective is feminine plural.
  • Slip: sportifs Sportif becomes sportives.

Example 3

Write in French: The new students are happy and my former teacher is a great man.

  1. "The new students" is les nouveaux étudiants.
  2. "Happy" is heureux (masculine plural, no change).
  3. "My former teacher" is mon ancien professeur.
  4. "A great man" is un grand homme.

Answer: Les nouveaux étudiants sont heureux et mon ancien professeur est un grand homme.

Common slips
  • Slip: les étudiants nouveaux Nouveau goes before the noun.
  • Slip: heureuxs Adjectives in -x do not add s.
  • Slip: mon professeur ancien Ancien before a noun means former.
  • Slip: un homme grand Grand before the noun means great; after, it means tall.

Questions and answers

Try each one, then open the answer.

Question 1 Easy

Give the feminine of "petit".

Show answer

Answer: petite

  1. Add e.
  2. The t is now pronounced.

Question 2 Easy

Give the plural of "grand" (masculine).

Show answer

Answer: grands

  1. Add s.
  2. The s is silent.

Question 3 Easy

Complete: Une maison ___ . (white)

Show answer

Answer: blanche

  1. Blanc becomes blanche.
  2. Colours go after.

Question 4 Easy

Complete: Mes sœurs sont ___ . (tall, feminine plural)

Show answer

Answer: grandes

  1. Feminine plural: grandes.
  2. Add es.

Question 5 Medium

Translate into French: a beautiful house

Show answer

Answer: une belle maison

  1. Belle is feminine.
  2. Beau goes before the noun.

Question 6 Medium

Translate into French: my new friends (girls)

Show answer

Answer: mes nouvelles amies

  1. Nouvelles is feminine plural.
  2. Nouveau goes before.

Question 7 Medium

Translate into French: She has brown eyes.

Show answer

Answer: Elle a les yeux marron

  1. Marron is invariable.
  2. Use the plural of yeux.

Question 8 Medium

Translate into French: He is a nice, sporty boy.

Show answer

Answer: C'est un garçon sympathique et sportif

  1. C'est un garçon.
  2. Sportif agrees.

Question 9 Hard

Translate into French: They are happy because they have good neighbours.

Show answer

Answer: Ils sont heureux parce qu'ils ont de bons voisins

  1. Heureux is plural and unchanged.
  2. De bons voisins.

Question 10 Hard

Translate into French: The beautiful old castles are national treasures.

Show answer

Answer: Les beaux vieux châteaux sont des trésors nationaux

  1. Beaux and vieux before the noun.
  2. Nationaux is the plural of national.

Question 11 Hard

Translate into French: Last week I met a former teacher.

Show answer

Answer: La semaine dernière, j'ai rencontré un ancien professeur

  1. La semaine dernière.
  2. Un ancien professeur.

Question 12 Hard

What does "Ma propre chambre est propre" mean?

Show answer

Answer: My own room is clean

  1. Propre before the noun means own.
  2. Propre after means clean.

Exam-style questions

Longer tasks with the marking points. These are Yumio practice questions.

Exam-style question 15 marks

Translate into French. (a) a big house (b) My sisters are tall. (c) a red car [5 marks]

Show answer

Answer: Une grande maison. Mes sœurs sont grandes. Une voiture rouge.

  1. Grand before.
  2. Agreement.
  3. Colour after.
  • Mark (1): Une grande maison
  • Mark (2): Mes sœurs sont (1) grandes (1)
  • Mark (2): Une voiture (1) rouge (1)

Exam-style question 26 marks

Write about 50 words in French describing a member of your family and their home. Use at least four adjectives with correct agreement and position. [6 marks]

Show answer

Answer: Ma petite sœur est blonde et sportive. Elle a de grands yeux verts. Nous habitons dans une vieille maison avec un joli jardin. Mes parents sont heureux parce que nous avons de bons voisins.

  1. Agreement.
  2. Position.
  3. De before plural adjective.
  • Mark (2): Adjectives agreeing in gender and number
  • Mark (2): Adjectives in the correct position
  • Mark (2): De used before a plural adjective

Common mistakes

  1. une maison grande

    Grand goes before: une grande maison.

  2. des yeux marrons

    Marron does not change: des yeux marron.

  3. des garçons heureuxs

    Adjectives in -x do not add s: heureux.

  4. un nouveau étudiant

    Before a vowel: un nouvel étudiant.

  5. une rouge voiture

    Colours go after the noun: une voiture rouge.

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