Adjectives
4 May 2026
Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns. In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, and their position relative to the noun follows specific rules.
Agreement
Gender
The base form of a French adjective is the masculine singular. The feminine is typically formed by adding -e:
- petit → petite - small
- grand → grande - big / tall
- français → française - French
When the masculine already ends in -e, the form is identical for both genders:
- rouge - red (un ballon rouge / une voiture rouge)
- jeune - young
Many adjectives follow patterns based on their ending:
- -eux → -euse - heureux → heureuse, sérieux → sérieuse
- -er → -ère - premier → première, étranger → étrangère
- -f → -ve - actif → active, neuf → neuve
- -on → -onne - bon → bonne, breton → bretonne
- -en → -enne - ancien → ancienne, européen → européenne
- -el → -elle - naturel → naturelle, officiel → officielle
- -et → -ète - discret → discrète, concret → concrète
- exceptions: muet → muette, net → nette
Some common adjectives are completely irregular:
- beau → belle - beautiful
- nouveau → nouvelle - new
- vieux → vieille - old
- blanc → blanche - white
- doux → douce - sweet / soft
- faux → fausse - false
Number
The plural is typically formed by adding -s to the singular form. Both genders follow this rule:
- petit → petits, petite → petites
When the singular already ends in -s or -x, the plural is identical:
- gris → gris - grey
- heureux → heureux - happy
Some adjectives follow other patterns:
- -eau → -eaux - beau → beaux, nouveau → nouveaux
- -al → -aux - national → nationaux, royal → royaux
- exceptions: fatal → fatals, banal → banals, naval → navals
Position
Most French adjectives come after the noun they modify:
- une voiture rouge - a red car
- un homme intelligent - an intelligent man
However, a group of common adjectives are placed before the noun. A handy acronym for these is BANGS:
- Beauty: beau, joli
- Age: jeune, vieux, ancien
- Number/order: premier, dernier, prochain, deuxième
- Goodness: bon, mauvais
- Size: grand, petit, gros, long, haut
Note: some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun. Mon ancien professeur (my former teacher) vs. un bâtiment ancien (an old/ancient building). Un grand homme (a great man) vs. un homme grand (a tall man).
Liaison forms
Three adjectives have an extra masculine singular form used before a vowel or silent h:
- beau → bel - un bel homme
- nouveau → nouvel - un nouvel appartement
- vieux → vieil - un vieil arbre
These forms only affect the spoken and written masculine singular. The feminine forms (belle, nouvelle, vieille) are unchanged.
Invariables
Some adjectives do not agree with the noun at all:
- Color adjectives derived from nouns: marron, orange, crème, saumon
- contrast: rouge, vert, bleu, jaune etc. all agree normally
- Compound colors (two words describing a single shade): bleu marine, vert foncé, rouge vif
Comparison
See also Adverb Comparison.
Comparative
To compare adjectives, place plus (more), moins (less), or aussi (as) before the adjective and que (than / as) after it:
- plus … que - more … than
- moins … que - less … than
- aussi … que - as … as
Cette voiture est plus rapide que l’autre. - This car is faster than the other.
Superlative
The superlative uses a definite article + plus or moins. The article agrees with the noun:
- le/la/les plus … - the most …
- le/la/les moins … - the least …
C’est la ville la plus belle du pays. - It’s the most beautiful city in the country.
When the adjective follows the noun, the definite article is repeated: le film le plus intéressant.
Irregular forms
A few adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms rather than using plus/moins:
- bon → meilleur(e) - good → better / best
- mauvais → pire - bad → worse / worst
- plus mauvais also exists but is less common