Common Adjectives & Agreement

Why This Matters

Adjectives are the color in your French sentences. Without them, everything sounds flat: une maison vs. une grande maison ancienne — one paints a picture, the other doesn't. Learning agreement rules now means you'll never have to hesitate mid-sentence.

🦝 Remy says: "English adjectives are lazy — they never change. French adjectives are polite — they adapt to whoever they're describing. Once you get the rhythm, it actually feels elegant!"

Core Lesson: The Agreement System

The Basic Pattern

Most adjectives follow this pattern:

| Form | Ending | Example | |

|

--|

| | Masculine singular | base form | grand [grahn] | | Feminine singular | + e | grande [grahn-d] | | Masculine plural | + s | grands [grahn] | | Feminine plural | + es | grandes [grahn-d] |

Adjectives That Don't Change in the Feminine

Some adjectives already end in -e, so they stay the same:

• jeune [jœn] — young: un jeune homme / une jeune femme
• facile [fah-seel] — easy: un exercice facile / une question facile
• sympathique [sahn-pah-teek] — nice: un ami sympathique / une amie sympathique
• rouge [rooj] — red: un chapeau rouge / une robe rouge

Irregular Adjectives

Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms:

| Masculine | Feminine | English | |

--|

-|

| | vieux [vyuh] | vieille [vyay] | old | | heureux [uh-ruh] | heureuse [uh-ruhz] | happy | | gentil [jahn-tee] | gentille [jahn-tee] | kind | | beau [boh] | belle [bell] | beautiful | | nouveau [noo-voh] | nouvelle [noo-vell] | new |

Position: Before or After the Noun?

In French, most adjectives go after the noun. But a small group of common adjectives goes before:

BAGS adjectives (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) come before:

• beau / belle — une belle ville [oon bell veel] (a beautiful city)
• ancien / ancienne — un ancien ami [uhn ahn-syehn ah-mee] (a former friend)
• grand / grande — un grand bâtiment [uhn grahn bah-tee-mahn] (a big building)
• small = petit / petite — une petite fille [oon puh-teet fee] (a little girl)

🦝 Remy's trick: "When in doubt, put the adjective after the noun — you'll be right 80% of the time. Then memorize BAGS for the exceptions. Beau, Ancien, Grand, Petit — BAGS!"

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the Blank

Make the adjective agree with the noun:

1. une fille _____ (intelligent)
2. un homme _____ (heureux)
3. des enfants _____ (gentil)
4. une vieille _____ voiture (vieux — goes before)
5. des robes _____ (rouge)

✅ Answers:

1. une fille intelligente
2. un homme heureux
3. des enfants gentils
4. une vieille voiture
5. des robes rouges

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a Sentence

1. (a beautiful + old house) — maison = feminine
2. (a kind + young woman)
3. (happy + children — plural)

✅ Model answers:

1. une belle vieille maison
2. une jeune femme gentille
3. des enfants heureux

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate

1. a tall boy → un grand garçon
2. a new car → une nouvelle voiture
3. nice friends (masculine) → des amis sympathiques
4. a red dress → une robe rouge
5. an easy lesson → une leçon facile

🎯 Today's Challenge

Describe your home in three sentences using at least five different adjectives. Try to use one before the noun and one after. For example: J'ai une grande maison. Elle est vieille mais belle. Ma chambre est petite et confortable.

⭐ Key Takeaways

• Most adjectives add -e for feminine and -s for plural
• Adjectives ending in -e already don't change for feminine
• Most adjectives follow the noun; BAGS adjectives (beau, ancien, grand, petit) precede it