French For Football/Grammar/Adjectives

Regular formation
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 gardien impressionnant --> une gardienne impressionnante (an impressive male / female keeper)
 * un changement surprenant --> une victoire surprenante (a surprising substitution / victory)
 * un match mouvementé --> une saison mouvementée (an eventful match / season)
 * Plural: add an -s to the singular form
 * un moment fort --> des moments forts (a highlight / some highlights)
 * une équipe forte --> des équipes fortes (a strong team / some strong teams)

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. With plural adjectives, the -s ending is not pronounced, so the adjective will sound exactly the same as the singular form.
 * Masculine Pronuciation: impressionnan, surprenan, for
 * Feminine Pronunciation: impressionnant, surprenant, fort

Exceptions and Irregularities

 * Adjectives that end in e in the masculine form do not change with gender.
 * When an adjective, such as gros, ends in -s, it does not change in the masculine plural form.
 * Sometimes the final consonant is doubled in the feminine form.

Word Order
Most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French. However, some common French adjectives, including beau, nouveau, and vieux come before the noun. Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun. Note that in informal speech, des is very often used in place of de.
 * un joueur expérimenté - an experienced player
 * des joueurs expérimentés - (some) experienced players
 * un joli but - a lovely goal
 * de jolis buts - (some) lovely goals

List
Adjectives that are used frequently before nouns. These are:
 * 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)

+ sometimes placed after a noun, and may change in meaning

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:

(Translations: mouvement=interplay, arret=save, occasion=chance, joueur=player, investisseur=investor, recrue=recruit, briscard=veteran, ami=friend, idée=idea)

Possessive adjectives
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.

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 use "Mon" instead of "Ma". Example: Mon ami = ok Ma amie = error! Mon amie = ok.

Usage
Possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object. In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject (his sister, her brother). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify. Whether the third person singular possessive adjectives son, sa and ses should be translated as his or her is indicated by context.
 * C'est mon billet. - It's my ticket.
 * Elle a son billet. - She has her ticket.

Liaison and adjective changes
Liaison occurs when mon, ton, and son are followed by a vowel. Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s. Mon, ton, and son are used before a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h. Elision (to m', t', or s') does not occur.
 * Il est monnami. - He is my friend.
 * Il est tonnami. - He is your friend.
 * Il est sonnami. - He is his/her friend.
 * Ils sont meszamis. - They are my friends.
 * Ils sont noszamis. - They are our friends.
 * Elle est monnamie. - She is my friend.

Demonstrative adjectives
There are four adjectives (meaning this or these) that demonstrate a specific object:


 * Ce match (masculin)
 * Cet après-midi (masculin before vowel or silent h)
 * Cette semaine (feminine)
 * Ces joueurs (plural)

(après-midi=afternoon, semaine=week)

Superlative
le/la/les + plus/moins + un adjectif

le/la/les + meilleur(e)(s)/mieux/pire

Acknowledgements
This page is based on original text from French/Grammar/Adjectives dated 22 January 2010.