Making French Adjectives Agree: A Practical Guide

Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated: October 9, 2026

In French, adjectives must change their form to match, or agree with, the noun they describe. This means an adjective's spelling and pronunciation can change depending on the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). Getting agreement right is a key step toward sounding more natural in French.

The Basic Rule: Add -e for Feminine, -s for Plural

The standard pattern for adjective agreement is simple. To make a masculine singular adjective feminine, you usually add an -e. To make it plural, you add an -s. For a feminine plural adjective, you add -es.

Regular adjective agreement with 'vert' (green).
	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	un pull vert (a green sweater)	une robe verte (a green dress)
Plural	des pulls verts (green sweaters)	des robes vertes (green dresses)

If a masculine adjective already ends in an -e (like 'rouge' meaning red), you do not need to add another -e for the feminine form. It stays the same.

un livre rouge (a red book)
une voiture rouge (a red car)
des livres rouges (red books)
des voitures rouges (red cars)

Common Feminine Forms

While adding -e is the general rule, many common adjectives have specific spelling changes for their feminine form. Learning these patterns will help you recognize and use them correctly.

Adjectives ending in -eux become -euse: heureux → heureuse (happy)
Adjectives ending in -if become -ive: sportif → sportive (athletic)
Adjectives ending in -er become -ère: cher → chère (dear, expensive)
Adjectives ending in -el, -en, -on often double the consonant before adding -e: traditionnel → traditionnelle (traditional); bon → bonne (good); européen → européenne (European)
Adjectives ending in -et can become -ète or -ette: complet → complète (complete); muet → muette (mute)

Totally Irregular Feminine Adjectives

Some of the most frequently used adjectives have completely irregular feminine forms that you just have to memorize. Here are a few important ones:

blanc → blanche (white)
frais → fraîche (fresh)
sec → sèche (dry)
long → longue (long)
doux → douce (soft, sweet)
faux → fausse (false)
gros → grosse (big, fat)
vieux → vieille (old)

Plural Agreement Rules

Making adjectives plural is not always as simple as adding an -s. Here are the key rules for plural agreement:

Masculine adjectives already ending in -s or -x do not change in the plural: un homme gris → des hommes gris (grey men); un choix heureux → des choix heureux (happy choices).
Most masculine adjectives ending in -al change to -aux in the plural: un journal national → des journaux nationaux (national newspapers). Common exceptions include banal, final, and naval, which just take an -s (banals, finals, navals).
Masculine adjectives ending in -eau change to -eaux in the plural: un beau garçon → de beaux garçons (handsome boys).

Special Cases: Beau, Nouveau, Vieux

The adjectives 'beau' (beautiful), 'nouveau' (new), and 'vieux' (old) have special masculine singular forms used before a noun that starts with a vowel or a silent 'h'. This change makes the phrase easier to pronounce.

beau → bel: un beau garçon (a handsome boy) BUT un bel homme (a handsome man)
nouveau → nouvel: un nouveau livre (a new book) BUT un nouvel an (a new year)
vieux → vieil: un vieux pull (an old sweater) BUT un vieil ami (an old friend)

These special forms (bel, nouvel, vieil) are only for masculine singular nouns. The plural and feminine forms follow the regular patterns: de beaux appartements, une nouvelle amie, une vieille maison.

Agreement with Multiple Nouns

What happens when one adjective describes multiple nouns of different genders? The rule in French is that the masculine form takes precedence. If an adjective describes a group of nouns and at least one of them is masculine, the adjective must be in the masculine plural form.

For example: J'ai acheté un pull et une jupe noirs. (I bought a black sweater and skirt). Even though 'jupe' is feminine, the presence of the masculine 'pull' makes the adjective 'noirs' masculine plural.

Invariable Adjectives: Colours and Compounds

Some adjectives, especially colours derived from nouns (like fruits or materials), are invariable. This means they never change their form, regardless of the noun's gender or number.

des chaussures marron (brown shoes)
une écharpe orange (an orange scarf)

Similarly, compound adjectives made of two words (like two colours, or a colour and a noun) are also invariable.

des yeux bleu clair (light blue eyes)
une veste vert foncé (a dark green jacket)

How Agreement Affects Pronunciation

Adjective agreement isn't just about spelling, it often changes how a word sounds. The final consonant of many masculine adjectives is silent. When you add an -e for the feminine form, that consonant is often pronounced.

petit (the final 't' is silent) vs. petite (the 't' is pronounced)
grand (the final 'd' sounds like a 't') vs. grande (the 'd' is pronounced)
gris (the final 's' is silent) vs. grise (the 's' sounds like a 'z')

The plural -s is almost always silent, unless it creates a liaison with a following vowel. For example, in 'de grands amis' (great friends), the 's' from 'grands' links to 'amis' and is pronounced like a 'z'.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

As you practice, watch out for these common errors:

Forgetting agreement entirely: Saying *'une voiture vert'* instead of 'une voiture verte'.
Making invariable colours agree: Saying *'des chaussures marrons'* instead of 'des chaussures marron'.
Using the wrong plural form for -al adjectives: Saying *'des journaux nationals'* instead of 'des journaux nationaux'.
Forgetting the special forms 'bel', 'nouvel', 'vieil': Saying *'un beau appartement'* instead of 'un bel appartement'.

Quick self-check

How would you describe 'an old school' (une école)?
Show answer
Une vieille école. ('Vieux' becomes 'vieille' for a feminine noun).
What is the correct form of the adjective 'original' in this sentence: 'J'ai des idées (original).'?
Show answer
J'ai des idées originales. ('Idée' is feminine, so the adjective must be feminine plural).
You see a handsome man ('un homme'). How do you describe him using the adjective 'beau'?
Show answer
Un bel homme. ('Beau' becomes 'bel' before a masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent 'h').
How do you say 'I like orange pants'?
Show answer
J'aime les pantalons orange. ('Orange' is an invariable color adjective and does not take an -s in the plural).

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