Lesson 11: Adjective Agreement

Grand ou grande ? — Adjective Agreement · A0 → A1 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life

You will learn that every French adjective must match the noun in gender and number — grand, grande, grands, grandes. You will learn the standard -e / -s pattern, the four important irregular adjectives, seventeen essential adjectives, and where each adjective goes in the sentence. You will also use colours correctly.

In this lesson

• adjective agreement
• feminine and plural forms
• adjective position
• colours

Vocabulary

Pronunciation

Grammar

An adjective must agree with its noun

In English an adjective never changes: a tall man, a tall woman, tall people. In French it changes every time, because the adjective has to match the noun in gender and number. The basic pattern is simple: add -e for feminine, add -s for plural. grand → grande → grands → grandes. Sometimes the -e changes the sound (petit 'puh-tee' → petite 'puh-teet'), and sometimes you hear nothing at all (joli and jolie are identical). A few very common adjectives are irregular, and there are only four you must know at this level: beau / belle, vieux / vieille, blanc / blanche, heureux / heureuse. Learn each adjective as a family of four forms, not as one word.

Where does the adjective go — and where do colours go?

Most French adjectives go AFTER the noun. This is the opposite of English, so it feels strange at first: une voiture rouge (a red car), une table blanche, un livre cher. Only a small group of very common, short adjectives goes BEFORE the noun: grand, petit, jeune, vieux, beau, joli, bon, mauvais, nouveau. So you say un grand homme, une petite maison, un bon restaurant, une jolie fille. Be careful with one classic example: un grand homme means 'a great man', while un homme grand means 'a tall man' — the position changes the meaning. Colours are ordinary adjectives, so they always go after the noun: rouge, bleu(e), vert(e), noir(e), blanc / blanche, jaune, gris(e). And like all adjectives, they agree: une table noire, des livres noirs.

Examples

Dialogue: Regarde ma sœur !

Say it out loud

• une grande maison — a big house maison is feminine, so grande with -e.
• un petit café — a small café petit goes BEFORE the noun.
• une voiture rouge — a red car Colours go AFTER the noun.
• une table blanche — a white table blanc → blanche for a feminine noun.
• Mon frère est grand. — My brother is tall. grand is nasal, with no d sound.
• Ma sœur est petite. — My sister is small. Feminine petite — say the t.
• Elle est très gentille. — She is very kind. gentille ends with a clear 'yuh'.
• Ma grand-mère est vieille. — My grandmother is old. Feminine vieille — not 'vieux'.
• Le café est chaud et le livre est cher. — The coffee is hot and the book is expensive. Both adjectives keep the masculine singular form.

Listening practice: Ali describes his family

Remember this

• Every adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number: grand / grande / grands / grandes.
• Basic pattern: -e for feminine, -s for plural.
• Irregular pairs to memorise: beau / belle, vieux / vieille, blanc / blanche, heureux / heureuse.
• In pairs like petit / petite and chaud / chaude, the feminine makes you pronounce one more sound.
• Most adjectives go AFTER the noun: une voiture rouge, un livre cher.
• A small group goes BEFORE the noun: grand, petit, jeune, vieux, beau, joli, bon, mauvais, nouveau.
• un grand homme = a great man, but un homme grand = a tall man. Position changes meaning.
• Colours are adjectives and always go after the noun: rouge, bleu(e), vert(e), noir(e), blanc / blanche, jaune, gris(e).
• Recycled: with être from lesson 7 (mon frère est grand) and with avoir from lesson 9 (il a vingt ans).

Common mistakes

Practice questions

• What is the feminine form of 'grand'? grand / grands / grande / grandes — grande
• What is the feminine form of 'beau'? beau / belle / beaux / belles — belle
• What is the feminine form of 'vieux'? vieux / viel / vieille / vieuxe — vieille
• What is the feminine form of 'blanc'? blanche / blanc / blanque / blanches — blanche
• Where do MOST French adjectives go? before the noun / after the noun / only before colours / at the end of the sentence — after the noun
• Which adjective in this list goes BEFORE the noun? rouge / facile / petit / difficile — petit
• Which is correct for 'a red car'? une voiture rouge / une rouge voiture / un voiture rouge / une voiture rouges — une voiture rouge
• What is the feminine plural of 'content'? contents / contente / contentes / content — contentes
• 'Le café est chaud' means: The coffee is cold / The coffee is expensive / The coffee is hot / The coffee is small — The coffee is hot
• Which is correct for 'a white house'? une maison blanc / un maison blanche / une blanche maison / une maison blanche — une maison blanche

Homework (15 minutes)

1) Choose five objects in your room and describe each one with a colour: une table noire, un livre blanc, etc. Check the gender of every noun first. 2) Write the four forms of five adjectives from memory (grand, petit, bon, joli, content). 3) Write five sentences about your family using être + an adjective, checking the ending every time. 4) Record yourself saying petit / petite, chaud / chaude and blanc / blanche, and listen for the extra sound in the feminine.

Lesson 11 of 45 · Part 1 · Core Grammar & Daily Life · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2