French adjective agreement for English speakers
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
English adjectives usually keep the same form: a small house and two small houses. French adjectives often change their spelling and sometimes their pronunciation to match the noun.
Match the noun, not the person speaking
Start with petit: un petit appartement, une petite maison, des petits appartements, des petites maisons. The adjective agrees with the noun it describes, even if the owner or speaker has a different gender. Most regular feminine forms add -e and most plurals add -s. But adjectives already ending in -e often look the same in masculine and feminine: un livre facile, une question facile. The plural still adds -s: des questions faciles.
Notice spelling and sound changes
Some endings need more than -e. Bon becomes bonne; heureux becomes heureuse; sportif becomes sportive. A masculine adjective ending in -eux often changes to -euse in the feminine, while -if becomes -ive. The extra consonant can be audible: petit / petite and grand / grande do not sound identical. Practice each adjective as a pair rather than memorizing only the masculine dictionary form.
English interference to avoid
In English, the phrase 'two interesting books' contains one unchanging adjective. In French you need deux livres intéressants, with plural -s, even when that final letter is not pronounced. Do not make agreement follow the English pronoun: une voiture rouge remains feminine because voiture is feminine. And do not assume every final -s is sounded; des petites tables generally ends with silent written consonants unless liaison applies.
Build accurate sentences
Choose a familiar noun, add an article, then an adjective: une nouvelle idée, un nouveau projet, de nouveaux projets. Check gender before number; otherwise it is easy to write une petit maison. Try changing one phrase through four forms, such as un ami heureux, une amie heureuse, des amis heureux, des amies heureuses. Read aloud to notice which forms change in speech and which only change in writing.
| Masculine | Feminine | Plural example |
|---|---|---|
| petit | petite | des petites maisons |
| heureux | heureuse | des amies heureuses |
| sportif | sportive | des filles sportives |
| facile | facile | des exercices faciles |
Quick self-check
Complete: une maison (petit/petite).
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petite
Complete: des garçons (heureux/heureuses).
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heureux
Feminine of sportif?
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sportive
Plural of une question facile?
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des questions faciles
Complete: des voitures (rouge/rouges).
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rouges