Adjectives

Question 1

To make a REGULAR adjective (end in -u, -i, -é, -t) into the..
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 1

E.g. petit:

1) -e (petite)
2) -s (petits)
3) -es (petites)

Question 2

Adjective ending in -e into the..
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 2

E.g. jaune:

1) nothing! (jaune)
2) -s (jaunes)
3) -s (jaunes)

Question 3

Adjectives ending in -s into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 3

E.g. gros

1) -se (grosse)
2) nothing! (gros)
3) -ses (grosses)

Question 4

Adjectives ending in -on into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 4

E.g. bon

1) -ne (bonne)
2) -s (bons)
3) -nes (bonnes)

Question 5

Adjectives ending in -eux into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 5

E.g. heureux

1) -euse (heureuse)
2) nothing! (heureux)
3) -euses (heureuses)

Question 6

Adjectives ending in -er into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 6

E.g. premier

1) -ère (première)
2) -ers (premiers)
3) -ères (premières)

Question 7

Adjectives ending in -f into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 7

E.g. sportif

1) -ve (sportive)
2) -fs (sportifs)
3) -ves (sportives)

Question 8

Adjectives ending in -el into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 8

E.g. personnel

1) -le (personnelle)
2) -s (personnels)
3) -les (personnelles)

Question 9

Adjectives that end in er or et need a grave accent:

Ending: er > ère

Ending: et > ète

Answer 9

E.g. cher

1) -ère
2) -s
3) -ères

E.g. complet

4) -ète
5) -s
6) -ètes

Question 10

Adjectives ending in -c into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 10

E.g. blanc

1) -che
2) -cs
3) -ches

Question 11

Adjectives ending in -eur into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 11

E.g. flatteur (flattering)

1) -euse (flatteuse)
2) -eurs (flatteurs)
3) -euses (flatteuses)

Question 12

Adjectives ending in -al into the...
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 12

E.g. idéal

1) -e
2) -aux
3) -ales

Question 13

beautiful; beau into the...
after a vowel/H
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 13

1) bel
2) belle
3) beaux
4) belles

Question 14

new; nouveau into the...
after a vowel/H
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 14

1) nouvel
2) nouvelle
3) nouveaux
4) nouvelles

Question 15

crazy, fou into the...
after a vowel/H
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 15

1) fol
2) folle
3) fous
4) folles

Question 16

soft, mou into the...
after a vowel/H
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 16

1) mol
2) molle
3) mous
4) molles

Question 17

old, vieux into the...
after a vowel/H
feminine singular;
masculine plural;
feminine plural;
form, you must add what?

Answer 17

1) vieil
2) vieille
3) vieux
4) vieilles

Question 18

When the masculine singular adjective ends in an unaccented E, there is no difference between the masculine and feminine forms.

Answer 18

E.g. rouge

1) nothing! (rouge)
2) -s (rouges)
3) -s (rouges)

Question 19

When the default form of the adjective ends in S or X, there is no difference between the masculine singular and plural forms.

Answer 19

E.g. gris

1) -e (grise)
2) nothing! (gris)
3) -es (grises)

Question 20

Placement: After the noun

• Includes most descriptive adjectives.
• Normally have an analytical meaning (i.e. they classify the noun into a certain category).
• Include shape, color, taste, nationality, religion, social class, and other adjectives that describe things like personality and mood.

Answer 20

une table ronde - round table
un livre noir - black book
du thé sucré - sweet tea
une femme américaine - American woman
une église catholique - Catholic church
une famille bourgeoise - middle-class family

Question 21

In addition, present participles and past participles used as adjectives are always placed _______ the noun.

Answer 21

after.
E.g. une histoire intéressante - interesting story
un débat passionné - lively debate

Question 22

Placement: Before the noun

Certain adjectives are placed before the noun, some which you can memorize with the acronym “BAGS”:

Beauty
Age
Good and bad
Size (except for grand with people - see 3, below)

These descriptors - and a few others - are considered inherent qualities of the noun

Answer 22

une jolie fille - pretty girl
   un jeune homme - young man
   une nouvelle maison - new house
   un bon enfant - good child
   un petit problème - small problem
   les sincères condoléances - sincere condolences
   les vagues promesses - vague promises
   un gentil garçon - kind boy

Question 23

In addition, all non-descriptive (i.e., demonstrative, indefinite, interrogative, negative, and possessive) adjectives are placed ________ the noun.

Answer 23

before
   ces livres - these books
   chaque personne - each person
   quel stylo ? - which pen?
   aucune femme - no woman
   mon enfant - my child

Question 24

Placement: Depends on Meaning
Some adjectives have both a figurative and an analytic (literal) sense and can thus be placed on either side of the noun. When the adjective is figurative, it goes before the noun, and when it’s analytic, it goes after the noun.

Answer 24

Figurative: mes vertes années my green (fruitful) years
Literal: des légumes verts green vegetables

Figurative: un grand homme a great man
Literal: un homme grand a tall man

Figurative: un triste individu a sad (mean or bad) person
Literal: un individu triste a sad (crying) person

Figurative: mon ancienne école my old (former) school
Literal: mon école ancienne my old (aged) school

Figurative: un certain regard a certain (type of) look
Literal: une victoire certaine a certain (assured) victory

Question 25

Demonstrative Adjectives - Definition & Use

Answer 25

Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) are words used in place of articles to indicate a specific noun. In French, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify:

Question 26

Demonstrative Adjectives - Formation
masculine singular
masculine noun (vowel or mute h)
feminine singular
plural

Answer 26

1) Ce:
E.g. Ce prof parle trop. - This (That) teacher talks too much.
J’aime ce livre. - I like this (that) book.

2) Cet
Cet homme est sympa. - This (That) man is nice.
Je connais cet endroit. - I know this (that) place.

3) Cette
Cette idée est intéressante. - This (That) idea is interesting.
Je veux parler à cette fille. - I want to talk to this (that) girl.

4) Ces
Ces livres sont stupides. - These (Those) books are stupid.
Je cherche ces femmes. - I’m looking for these (those) women.

Question 27

Indefinite adjectives

Indefinite adjectives always come before a noun and agree with the noun.

Answer 27

Chaque means ‘each’ or ‘every’ but is only used in the singular form:
Chaque matin, elle se lève à sept heures (She gets up at seven every morning)
Quelque means ‘some’ or ‘any’ (in questions):
Depuis quelque temps, il est malheureux (He’s been unhappy for some time)
Just add an -s for the plural form quelques, which means ‘some’, ‘a few’ or ‘any’ (in questions):
Je passe quelques jours en France (I’m in France for a few days)