成人快手

What is an adjective?

Adjectives are describing words. They tell us more information about nouns, such as the 鈥巆olour, size, age, etc.鈥

Examples of adjectives include:

FrenchEnglish
bleublue
grandbig
petitsmall
nouveaunew
vieuxold

Where do adjectives go in relation to nouns?鈥

In French, adjectives usually go after the noun:鈥

  • J鈥檃i un chat noir - I have a black cat.鈥
  • Mon p猫谤别 a les cheveux courts - My dad has short hair.鈥

However, most of the BAGS adjectives go before the noun. BAGS stands for Beauty, Age, 鈥嶨oodness and Size.

BeautyAgeGoodnessSize
beau / belle 鈥庘赌(产别补耻迟颈蹿耻濒)鈥vieux / vieille (辞濒诲)鈥bon / bonne (good)grand(e) (产颈驳)鈥
joli(e) (辫谤别迟迟测)鈥nouveau / nouvelle 鈥庘赌(苍别飞)鈥mauvais(e) (产补诲)鈥petit(e) (small)

For example:鈥

  • J鈥檋abite dans une grande maison - I live in a big house.鈥
  • Ma copine a une nouvelle tortue - My friend has a new tortoise.鈥

How do adjectives 鈥榓gree鈥 with the noun?鈥

Most adjectives in French change depending on whether they are describing a masculine, 鈥巉eminine or plural noun. The usual endings are as follows:鈥

masculine singularmasculine pluralfeminine singularfeminine plural
(no ending)-s-e-es
  • J鈥檃i un v茅lo vert - I have a green bike.鈥
  • Tu aimes les haricots verts? - Do you like green beans?鈥
  • Ma tante mange une pomme verte - My aunt is eating a green 鈥巃pple.鈥
  • Mon oncle aime les voitures vertes - My uncle likes green cars.鈥

There are some exceptions to this rule, however: 鈥

masculine singularmasculine pluralfeminine singularfeminine plural
鈥巙n jeune 丑辞尘尘别鈥 鈥(a young man)鈥鈥巇es jeunes hommes 鈥(some young men)鈥鈥巙ne jeune femme 鈥(a young woman)鈥des jeunes 蹿别尘尘别蝉鈥 鈥(some young 鈥巜omen)鈥
鈥巙n homme heureux 鈥(a happy man)鈥des hommes 鈥巋eur*eux * 鈥(some happy men)鈥鈥巙ne femme 鈥巋eureuse 鈥(a happy woman)鈥鈥巇es femmes 鈥巋eureuses 鈥(some happy 鈥巜omen)鈥
un homme sporti鈥f 鈥(a sporty man)鈥des hommes 鈥巗porti鈥巉蝉 鈥(some sporty men)鈥une femme sporti鈥ve 鈥(a sporty woman)鈥des femmes 鈥巗portives 鈥(some sporty 鈥巜omen)鈥
鈥巙n homme fier 鈥(a proud man)鈥des hommes fi鈥巈谤蝉 鈥(some proud men)鈥鈥巙ne femme fi猫谤别 鈥(a proud woman)鈥鈥巇es femmes fi猫谤别s 鈥(some proud 鈥巜omen)鈥
un gentil 驳补谤莽辞苍鈥 鈥(a kind man)鈥des gentils 驳补谤莽辞苍蝉鈥 鈥(some kind men)鈥une gentille 蹿别尘尘别鈥 鈥(a kind woman)鈥des gentilles 鈥幋诒鸪境颈鸩踱 鈥(some kind women)鈥

Some of the BAGS adjectives are irregular:鈥

EnglishMasculine 鈥巗ingularFeminine 鈥巗ingularMasculine 鈥巔luralFeminine plural
beautifulbeau, belbellebeauxbelles
oldvieux, 鈥巚ieilvieillevieuxvieilles
newnouveau, 鈥巒ouvelnouvellenouveauxnouvelles

Examples using BAGS

Beautiful

  • Le bel homme - The handsome man.鈥
  • Le beau chien - The beautiful dog.鈥
  • La belle maison - The beautiful house.鈥

Old

  • La vieille maison - The old house.鈥
  • Un vieux v茅lo - An old bike.鈥

New

  • La nouvelle maison - The new house.鈥
  • Un nouveau 鈥巆in茅ma - A new cinema.鈥

Nouveau, vieux and beau become nouvel, vieil and bel when used to describe a 鈥巑asculine noun that starts with a vowel or an 鈥榟鈥: 鈥

  • Un nouvel ami - A new friend. 鈥
  • Un vieil homme - An old man鈥.
  • Un bel appartement - A nice flat.

Quiz

Find out how much you know about adjectives in French in this short quiz.

Game - FestiLingo: French. game

Visit the festival and practise French language skills in this game

Game - FestiLingo: French