French/Grammar/Adjectives

Just like articles, French adjectives also have to match the nouns that they modify in gender and plurality.

Spelling
Most adjective changes occur in the following manner:
 * Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form
 * un garçon intéressant --> une fille intéressante
 * un ami amusant --> une amie amusante
 * un camion lent --> une voiture lente
 * Plural: add an -s to the singular form
 * un garçon intéressant --> des garçons intéressants
 * une fille intéressante --> des filles intéressantes

Pronunciation
Generally, the final consonant is pronounced only when it comes before an -e. Most adjectives, such as those above, are affected by this rule.
 * Masculine Pronunciation: intéressan, amusan, len
 * Feminine Pronunciation: intéressant, amusant, lent

List
Adjectives that are used frequently before nouns. These are: + sometimes placed after a noun, and may change in meaning
 * affreux (affreuse)
 * autre
 * beau (belle)
 * bon(ne) +
 * court(e) +
 * dernier (dernière) +
 * gentil (gentille)
 * grand(e) +
 * gros(se) +
 * haut(e)
 * jeune +
 * joli(e)
 * large
 * long(ue)
 * mauvais(e)
 * méchant(e) +
 * meilleur(e)
 * nouveau (nouvelle)
 * pauvre
 * petit(e)
 * vieux (vieille)
 * vilain(e)

When these adjectives appear before an indefinite plural noun, they will change the article associated with it:
 * des garçons courageux / de beaux garçons

Changes in meaning
When "grand" goes before a noun, it means "great". However, when it goes after the noun, it means "tall".

Likewise, when "pauvre" goes before a noun, it means "unfortunate". When it comes after the noun, it means financially "poor".

This rule works most of the time, but be careful, "pauvre" can mean "financially poor" even when used before the nouns.

Beau, nouveau, and vieux
These three adjectives behave differently when placed before a singular masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h:

Possessive adjectives
A possessive adjective tells us who owns/possesses something. So, you might say, "my house", "their family" or "his dogs". The same is done in French. However unlike English, in French we use different possessive adjectives dependent not only the person who owns the object (my car vs your car etc.) but also dependent on the gender and number. E.g. If I only have one dog, I would say, "mon chien" but if I have lots of dogs, I would say, "mes chiens".

Furthermore in English, we say "her car" when the owner of the car is a woman and "his car" when the owner is a man. In French, they say "sa voiture" even if the owner is a male. It is not the owner who determines the gender of the possessive adjective but the object owned. The following possessive adjectives are in the order of: masculine object, feminine object, plural (several of the object).

First person singular - mon, ma, mes Second person singular (informal) - ton, ta, tes Third person singular - son, sa, ses

First person plural - notre, notre, nos Second person plural (and polite form) - votre, votre, vos Third person plural - leur, leur, leurs

Note: Exception. When a feminine noun starts with a vowel or silent 'h', you should utilize "Mon" instead of "Ma". Example: Mon ami = ok Ma amie = error! Mon amie = ok.

Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives identifies a specific object relative to the speaker. In English, demonstrative adjectives are words like, "this" and "these".

There are four adjectives that demonstrate a specific object in French:


 * Ce garçon (masculine) - this/that boy
 * Cet ami (masculine before vowel or silent h) - this/that friend
 * Cette fille (feminine) - this/that girl
 * Ces enfants (plural) - these/those children