French Adjectival Agreement: Key Rules

French adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. This grammatical feature can be tricky for English speakers, but mastering it is crucial for speaking and writing French correctly.

Basic Rules

Gender Agreement

• Masculine singular: No change
• Feminine singular: Add -e (if not already present)

Example:

• Un grand livre (A big book)
• Une grande maison (A big house)

Number Agreement

• Masculine plural: Add -s
• Feminine plural: Add -es

Example:

• Des grands livres (Big books)
• Des grandes maisons (Big houses)

Common Exceptions

Adjectives Ending in -e

These adjectives don't change for gender, only for number:

• Un livre rouge (A red book)
• Une maison rouge (A red house)
• Des livres rouges (Red books)

Adjectives Ending in -eux

Change to -euse for feminine:

• Un homme heureux (A happy man)
• Une femme heureuse (A happy woman)

Irregular Adjectives

Some adjectives have irregular forms:

• Beau (m) → Belle (f) (beautiful)
• Nouveau (m) → Nouvelle (f) (new)
• Vieux (m) → Vieille (f) (old)

Position of Adjectives

Most French adjectives come after the noun:

• Une voiture rouge (A red car)

Some common adjectives precede the noun:

• Un petit chien (A small dog)
• Une belle journée (A beautiful day)

Remember, practice is key to mastering French adjectival agreement. Pay attention to these rules when reading French texts and try to use them in your own writing and speaking.