Les adjectifs irréguliers (Irregular Adjectives)

Les adjectifs irréguliers
(Irregular Adjectives)
As you already know, the spelling of an adjective can change based upon the number
and gender of the noun it describes. So an adjective can have up to four forms: both
singular and plural forms of masculine and feminine words.
In many cases, adjectives ending in a consonant are made feminine by adding an “e” to
the masculine word.
Petit becomes petite, américain becomes américaine.
The “e” is not pronounced, but it forces the “t” of petite and the “n” of américaine to be
pronounced. In these cases, the plural is formed by adding an “s”.
Petit becomes petits, and petite becomes petites.
Américain becomes américains and américaine becomes américaines.
The addition of the “s” does not change the pronunciation, and if the singular form
already ends in “s”, there is no change to make it plural.
Il est gros and ils sont gros.
There are a few exceptions to this rule. If the masculine form ends in -ien the feminine
ending is -ienne. We double the last consonant before adding the “e”. It is the same with
bon and bonne. To make the plural you simply add an “s”.
Brésilien becomes brésiliens, and brésilienne becomes brésiliennes.
Bon becomes bons, and bonne becomes bonnes.
If the singular masculine adjective ends in -f, the feminine form will end in -ve. Again, the
plural is formed by adding an “s”.
Il est sportif becomes elle est sportive in the feminine.
Il est sportif becomes Ils sont sportifs in the plural.
Elle est sportive becomes elles sont sportives in the plural.
If the singular masculine adjective ends in -eau, the feminine form will end in -elle.
Il est beau becomes elle est belle.
Il est nouveau becomes elle est nouvelle.
The masculine plural is formed by adding -x to the masculine singular:
Il est beau becomes Ils sont beaux.
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Les adjectifs irréguliers
(Irregular Adjectives)
In front of a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or an “h”, beau becomes bel, and
nouveau becomes nouvel.
C’est un bel homme.
C’est un nouvel ordinateur.
The feminine plural is formed by adding -s to the feminine singular.
Elle est belle becomes elles sont belles.
Elle est nouvelle becomes elles sont nouvelles.
If the singular masculine adjective ends in -eux, the feminine form will end in -euse.
Il est heureux becomes elle est heureuse.
The plural for a masculine adjective ending in -eux remains the same as the singular
form.
Il est heureux becomes ils sont heureux in the plural.
However, elle est heureuse becomes elles sont heureuses in the plural.
One important exception is the adjective vieux. In front of a masculine noun that starts
with a vowel or an “h”, it will become vieil, and in the feminine singular, it will appear as
vieille.
To recap, here’s a chart of some of the adjectives we have discussed.
Masculine Masc. before Feminine Masculine Feminine
singular
vowel
singular plural
plural
petit - petite petits petites
brésilien - brésilienne brésiliens brésiliennes
bon - bonne bons bonnes
sportif - sportive sportifs sportives
heureux - heureuse heureux heureuses
vieux vieil vieille vieux vieilles
beau bel belle beaux belles
nouveau nouvel nouvelle nouveaux nouvelles
Adjective agreement with number and gender is very important in French so you will
want to practice it well.
Les adjectifs irréguliers © 2012 Middlebury Interactive Languages. Page 2