French Grammar in Context

Adjectives 105

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1 AGREEMENT OF ADJECTIVES

a Adjectives ending in -n, -eil, -ienand most adjectives ending in –et double the final consonant
before adding –e in the feminine.
e.g. un bon discours; une bonne chose
dans un cas pareil;une chose pareille
un bar parisien; la vie parisienne
le prix net; immigration nette (but contrast secret, secrète)
The adjectives bas, épais, grasand grosdouble the –sbefore adding –ein the feminine.

b Adjectives ending in –eauform their feminine in –elle.

e.g. nouveau, nouvelle

Adjectives ending in –cform their feminine in –che.

e.g. blanc, blanche

Adjectives ending in –fform their feminine in –ve.

e.g. vif, vive

Most adjectives ending in –ouxform their feminine in –ouse.

e.g. jaloux, jalouse

But note doux, douceand roux, rousse.

c Note the following irregular forms.

The feminine of fraisis fraîche

The feminine of longis longue

The feminine of publicis publique

d Adjectives derived from English, colloquial “abbreviated” adjectives, and chicdo not change in
the feminine.
e.g. une vedette cool; une assistante sympa; une robe chic

e Adjectives which end in -sor -xdo not change in the masculine plural form.

e.g. des gens heureux; des murs gris

f Adjectives which end in -al, with a few exceptions e.g. banal/banals, form their masculine
plural in -aux. However, it should be noted that the feminine plural is regular.
e.g. les costumes nationaux, but les routes nationales

g Adjectives which end in -eauform their masculine plural in –eaux.

e.g. les nouveaux villages

h The masculine plural of the adjective toutis tous.