Mastering Adjectives in French: A Complete Guide
- Deepshika Dhankher
- Jul 22
- 5 min read
Introduction
Adjectives are essential in French—they describe people, places, and things. Whether you want to say "a beautiful city" or "an old book," adjectives help bring language to life. But in French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, and their placement can vary.
Table of Contents
1. Formation
2. Usage and Agreement
3. Special Cases and Exceptions
4. Common Mistakes to Avoid
5. Exercises with Answers
1. Formation
Most French adjectives are formed by adding endings to a base form. These endings change depending on gender and number.
Type of Noun | Ending Rule | Example (masc.) | Feminine Form | Plural Form(s) |
Regular | Add -e to masculine form | grand (tall) | grande | grands / grandes |
Ending in -e | No change for feminine | rapide (fast) | rapide | rapides |
Ending in -f | -f changes to -ve | actif (active) | active | actifs / actives |
Ending in -x | -x changes to -se | heureux (happy) | heureuse | heureux / heureuses |
Ending in -er | -er changes to -ère | premier (first) | première | premiers / premières |
Some adjectives are invariable, meaning they don't change form.
Adjectives of Nationality:
● These must agree in gender and number. ● They are not capitalized in French.
Nationality (masc. sing.) | Feminine | Plural Masc. | Plural Fem. |
français (French) | française | français | françaises |
italien (Italian) | italienne | italiens | italiennes |
anglais (English) | anglaise | anglais | anglaises |
2. Usage and Agreement
🧩 The Big Rule: Adjective Agreement
In French, adjectives must agree with the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun they describe.
✅ So adjectives change depending on:
1. Is the noun masculine or feminine?
2. Is it singular or plural?
Let’s Look at an Example:
Take the adjective “intelligent” (smart):
Noun | Gender/Number | Correct Form | Translation |
un homme | Masculine Singular | intelligent | a smart man |
une femme | Feminine Singular | intelligente | a smart woman |
des hommes | Masculine Plural | intelligents | smart men |
des femmes | Feminine Plural | intelligentes | smart women |
How to Make Adjectives Agree:
1. Feminine Singular:
Usually, add -e to the masculine form.
● petit (small, masc.) → petite (fem.)
● grand → grande
● content → contente
If the masculine adjective already ends in -e, you don’t need to add another one:
● jeune (young) → jeune (same for both genders)
2. Plural:
Usually, add -s to the singular form.
● petit → petits (masc. plural)
● petite → petites (fem. plural)
If the adjective already ends in -s or -x, you don’t add another -s.
● gros (big) → gros (masc. plural stays the same)
3. Feminine + Plural:
Apply both rules: Add -e for feminine and -s for plural.
● intelligent → intelligentes
● content → contentes
More Examples:
Noun Phrase | Translation |
un garçon heureux | a happy boy |
une fille heureuse | a happy girl |
des garçons heureux | happy boys |
des filles heureuses | happy girls |
3. Position of Adjectives: Before or After the Noun?
Most adjectives come after the noun in French:
● une voiture rouge (a red car)
● un chat curieux (a curious cat)
The BANGS rule helps French learners remember the types of adjectives that usually come before the noun (unlike most French adjectives which come after)
🎯 What is BANGS?
BANGS =
● B = Beauty
● A = Age
● N = Number
● G = Goodness
● S = Size
These are categories of adjectives that typically go before the noun in French.
Full List of Common BANGS Adjectives:
🔸 B – Beauty
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Meaning |
beau | belle | beautiful |
joli | jolie | pretty |
🔸 A – Age
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Meaning |
jeune | jeune | young |
vieux | vieille | old |
nouveau | nouvelle | new |
🔸 N – Number
These are actual numbers or quantity words:
Adjective | Meaning |
un, deux, trois… | one, two, three… |
premier / première | first |
dernier / dernière | last |
plusieurs | several |
quelques | a few |
🔸 G – Goodness
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Meaning |
bon | bonne | good |
mauvais | mauvaise | bad |
gentil | gentille | kind |
méchant | méchante | mean |
🔸 S – Size
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Meaning |
grand | grande | big, tall |
petit | petite | small, short |
gros | grosse | fat |
long | longue | long |
court | courte | short (length) |
Examples in Sentences:
● Un joli jardin → A pretty garden
● Une vieille voiture → An old car
● Mes deux amis → My two friends
● Un bon film → A good movie
● Une petite fille → A small girl
Quick Tip:
If the adjective doesn’t fall into BANGS, it usually goes after the noun:
● un livre intéressant (an interesting book)
● une robe rouge (a red dress)
4. Special Cases and Exceptions
● Irregular adjectives:
○ beau → belle (beautiful)
○ nouveau → nouvelle (new)
○ vieux → vieille (old)
● Adjective meaning changes based on position:
○ un grand homme (a great man) vs un homme grand (a tall man)
○ une pauvre femme (a poor/unfortunate woman) vs une femme pauvre (a woman with no money)
● Invariable adjectives:
○ Some adjectives like sympa (nice) don’t change in the plural: des profs sympa ● Colors used as adjectives:
○ bleu, vert, rouge, etc. must agree in gender and number.
■ une robe bleue, des chapeaux rouges, des fleurs blanches
○ If color is derived from a noun (orange, marron, etc.), it stays invariable: des robes orange
5. Common Mistakes to Avoid
● Forgetting agreement: une fille content ✖ should be une fille contente ✓
● Wrong position: un maison belle ✖ should be une belle maison ✓
● Capitalizing nationalities: Français ✖ should be français ✓
● Misusing irregular forms: un nouvelle appartement ✖ should be un nouvel appartement
✓
6. Exercises
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the adjective in parentheses. Each sentence includes an indicator that suggests an adjective is needed.
C'est une robe __________. (joli)
✅ jolie
Il porte un costume __________. (noir)
✅ noir
Nous avons vu des maisons __________. (ancien)
✅ anciennes
Elle a une voix __________. (doux)
✅ douce
C'est un homme __________. (gentil)
✅ gentil
Ils sont très __________ aujourd'hui. (content)
✅ contents
Tu as une voiture __________. (rapide)
✅ rapide
C'est une fille __________. (intelligent)
✅ intelligente
Vous avez acheté des pommes __________. (vert)
✅ vertes
Voici un exercice __________. (facile)
✅ facile
Elles sont __________ en classe. (attentif)
✅ attentives
Il lit un livre __________. (intéressant)
✅ intéressant
J'ai un oncle __________. (drôle)
✅ drôle
Tu portes une chemise __________. (blanc)
✅ blanche
Les enfants sont __________. (fatigué)
✅ fatigués
C'est une question __________. (important)
✅ importante
Nous cherchons des rues __________. (calme)
✅ calmes
Il a une attitude __________. (arrogant)
✅ arrogante
Ce sont des filles __________. (sportif)
✅ sportives
J'aime les histoires __________. (romantique)
✅ romantiques
Il y a un problème __________. (sérieux)
✅ sérieux
Elle visite une ville __________. (beau)
✅ belle
Tu es __________ aujourd'hui. (heureux)
✅ heureux
Ce film est __________. (ennuyeux)
✅ ennuyeux
Les professeurs sont __________. (sévère)
✅ sévères
C'est un appartement __________. (cher)
✅ cher
Voici une explication __________. (simple)
✅ simple
Il mange des fruits __________. (frais)
✅ frais
Nous habitons dans une maison __________. (moderne)
✅ moderne
Elle a une idée __________. (nouveau)
✅ nouvelle
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