Adjectives and Adverbs Flashcards
(20 cards)
adjectives are listed in the dictionary in male singular form
feminine singular (fs) -e
masculine plural (mp) -s
feminine plural (fp) -es
petit ms petite fs petits mp petites fp
vert ms verte fs verts mp vertes fp
if the adjective ends in -e it may be masculine or feminine
an adjective that does not end in an -e is never feminine
masculine adjectives that end in x or s are both singular and plural
heureux happy
sérieux serious
mauvais bad
haineux hateful
masculine adjectives that end in x or s are both singular and plural. However, their endings do change for feminine singular and feminine plural
MS FS MP FP English
heureux heureuse heureux heureuses happy
sérieux sérieuse sérieux sérieuses serious
mauvais mauvaise mauvais mauvaises bad
haineux haineuse haineux haineuses hateful
Some common adjectives
autre other
bon, -ne good
bref, brève brief
haut, haute high
jeune young
joli, -e pretty
long, -ue long
mauvais, -e bad
petit, -e small
vaste vast
some adjectives with alternate masculine forms
Masc. Alt M. Fem S MP FP English
ce cet cette ces ces this/these
beau bel belle beaux belle beautiful/handsome
nouveau nouvel nouvelle nouveaux nouvelles new
vieux vieil vieille vieux vieilles old
The meaning of some adjectives change depending whether they are before or after the noun
l’ancien président the former president
la ville ancienne the ancient city
mon cher ami my dear friend
un veston cher an expensive jacket
son propre nom his own name
un plancher propre a clean floor
la même chose the same thing
le livre même the book itself
Possessive adjectives
my mon ma mes
your ton ta tes
his/her/one’s/its* son sa ses
our notre nos
your votre vos
their leur leurs
*Son is masculine because the noun that follows it is masculine, and not because it means his. Son can
mean either his, her, one’s, or its
feminine singular possessive pronouns are changed to masculine ones if the following noun begins with a vowel or h
mon âme ( f. s.) my soul
ton école ( f. s.) your school
son histoire ( f. s.) his/her/one’s story
Adjectives expressing quantity
assez de enough (of)
autant de as many
beaucoup de a lot, many (of)
bien des many (of)
chaque each
la majorité the majority
la plupart de most (of)
moins de less (of), fewer
peu de little (of)
plus de more than
plusieurs several
quelques some, a few
trop de too much (of), too many (of)
Adjectives from nouns
To convert a noun into an adjective in French, use the prepositions à or de, (which are not translated).
Sometimes the à becomes au or aux.
un bateau à vapeur a steamboat
un camion d’incendie a fire engine
une ceinture de sécurité a seat-belt
la salle de conférence the conference room
coq au vin wine (stewed) chicken
Adjectives from nouns
When the noun is made by a certain material that is also a noun they are connected with de or en”
une dent en or a gold tooth (a tooth of gold)
une maison en briques a brick house (a house of brick)
Adjectives from verbs
To convert a verb into an adjective in French, use the prepositions à or de, (which are not translated).
Sometimes the à becomes au or aux.
noun- à or de- infinitive form of the verb
la salle à manger the dining-room
une machine à coudre a sewing machine
une machine à calculer a calculator (a calculating machine)
Adverbs modify verbs or adjectives. In English we have slowly, quickly, etc. In French we add -ment to the masculine form that ends in -e or the if it does not have an e than use the feminine form that ends in -e.
Adjective Corresponding Adverb
lent slow lentement slowly
facile easy facilement easily
parfait perfect parfaitement perfectly
naturel natural naturellement naturally
heureux happy heureusement happily
Some exceptions:
bon good bien well
mauvais bad mal badly
gentil kind gentiment kindly
courant fluent couramment fluently
énorme enormous énormément enormously
précis precise précisément precisely
vite quick vite quickly
Common Adverbs
à peu près more or less, approximately
assez rather
beaucoup very much
bien well, very much, very, really
moins less
plus more
si so
tant so, so much
très very
trop too much (modifying a verb); too (modifying an adjective)
Comparatives
In English we use -er and -est as in slower or faster.
In French we use comparative adjectives before the adjective being modified.
plus more
moins less
aussi as…as
une situation compliquée a complicated situation
une situation plus compliquée a more complicated situation
une situation moins compliquée a less complicated situation
une situation aussi compliquée a situation as complicated (as something else)
que is a comparative companion word meaning ‘than’ or ‘as’
plus . . . que more . . . than
moins . . . que less . . . than
aussi . . . que as . . . as
ne . . . pas aussi . . . que not as . . . as
For an adjective:
Elle est plus jolie que sa soeur. She is prettier than her sister.
Elle est moins jolie que sa soeur. She is less pretty than her sister.
Elle est aussi jolie que sa soeur. She is as pretty as her sister.
Elle n’est pas aussi jolie que sa soeur. She is not as pretty as her sister.
For an adverb:
Il écrit plus lentement que moi. He writes more slowly than I do (than me).
Il écrit moins lentement que moi. He writes less slowly than I do.
Il écrit aussi lentement que moi. He writes as slowly as I do.
Il n’écrit pas aussi lentement que moi. He doesn’t write as slowly as I do.
Comparing 2 quantities
plus de . . . que more of . . . than
moins de . . . que less of . . . than
autant de . . . que as much . . . as / as many . . . as
Jean lit plus de romans que Marie. John reads more novels than Marie.
Elle fait moins de fautes que moi. She makes fewer mistakes than I do.
Georges écrit autant de lettres que Jacques. George writes as many letters as Jack.
Superlatives
In English we have big, bigger, biggest
In French we repeat the same definite article (la, le, les) from the noun and use it with the comparative (plus, moins, etc)
Plus means more; plus . . . que means more than; le plus, la plus, or les plus means the most.
Moins means less, moins . . . que means less than; and le moins, la moins, or les moins, means the least.
la robe la plus belle the most beautiful dress
le livre le plus intéressant the most interesting book
l’examen le plus difficile the most difficult exam
les familles les moins riches the least wealthy families
les discussions les moins intéressantes the least interesting discussions
For adverbs:
l’homme qui court le plus vite the man who runs the fastest
The comparative and superlative forms of bon (good) and mauvais (bad) are irregular
bon, bonne, bons, bonnes good
meilleur, meilleure, meilleurs, meilleures (que) better (than)
le meilleur, la meilleure, les meilleur(e)s the best
mauvais, mauvaise bad
pire, pires (que) worse (than)
le pire, la pire, les pires the worst
The comparative and superlative forms of adverbs bien (well) and mal (badly) are irregular
bien well
mieux better
le mieux the best
mal badly
pire, pis (no longer very common) worse
le pire the worst
