Adjectives in French Grammar

Types of adjectives

In traditional grammar, French adjectives were divided into many categories: qualifying adjectives, possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, exclamatory adjectives, indefinite adjectives, and so on.

In modern grammar, only qualifying adjectives (adjectifs qualificatifs) are considered true adjectives. The term qualifying is therefore no longer necessary, and we simply refer to them as adjectives. The other former types (possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, etc.) now belong to the category of determiners, because they do not describe the noun but instead help to identify it, indicate possession, or specify quantity.

Example:

L’imagination est infinie.Imagination is infinite.

infinie is now just considered an adjective, formerly called a qualifying adjective

Ta créativité est surprenante.Your creativity is surprising.

ta is a possessive determiner, formerly called a possessive adjective

To learn more about determiners, feel free to visit our page that presents the main French determiners, along with many exercises.

Values – qualifying and classifying adjectives

In modern grammar, adjectives are categorized according to two main values:

• Qualifying adjectives: they describe a quality, characteristic, or state of the noun, and they can be modified by an adverb or by a comparative/superlative
  

  Example:

  un avion rapidea fast plane

  une fille intelligentean intelligent girl

  un film intéressantan interesting film

  you could add an adverb such as très (very) rapide, très intelligente, très intéressant

• Classifying adjectives: they indicate a relation to a domain, category, or type. They do not describe a quality but rather an affiliation or a classification, and they cannot be modified by an adverb or by a comparative/superlative!

  Example:

  une élection présidentiellea presidential election

  un transport scolaireschool transportation

  l’énergie nucléairenuclear energy

  you would not say très présidentielle, très scolaire, très nucléaire

Sometimes, the same adjective can be qualifying or classifying, depending on its meaning.

Example:

une marque françaisea French brand

“une marque très française” means the brand strongly incorporates French cultural codes or stereotypes

une équipe françaisea French team

here the adjective indicates category (nationality), so you would not say “une équipe très française” in this sense

Functions – attributive and predicative

In French, an adjective can function either as an attributive adjective (épithète) or as a predicative adjective (attribut). These terms can be confusing because “attributive” in English refers to the French épithète, while “predicative” corresponds to the French attribut. This is due to a difference in linguistic reasoning: French terminology is based on traditional grammatical functions, whereas English terminology follows a more structural, syntax-based approach.

Let’s look at the difference:

• the attributive adjective (épithète) relates directly to a noun. It is usually placed after the noun it modifies (sometimes before it) and is part of the noun phrase.
  

  Example:

  Il faut aérer les pièces humides.We need to air out the damp rooms.

  Regarde ce petit chat !Look at this little cat!

• the predicative adjective (attribut) is linked to the noun it describes by a linking verb (êtreto be, paraîtreto look like, semblerto seem, devenirto become, etc.) and is part of the verb phrase
  

  Example:

  Les élèves sont silencieux aujourd’hui.The students are quiet today.

  Ce fauteuil semble confortable.This armchair seems comfortable.

The main difference between these two functions is that the attributive adjective (épithète) is directly attached to the noun, while the predicative adjective (attribut) is separated from it by a linking verb.

Endings – gender and number

Adjectives agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), and this agreement is generally reflected in their endings.

• At the singular, you often add –e to the base form of the adjective (the masculine form) to create the feminine form. There are many exceptions to this rule, for example when the adjective already ends in –e, when it is a compound colour, or when it belongs to certain specific ending patterns.
  

  Example:

  intelligent (m. sing.) → intelligente (f. sing.)intelligent

  rouge (m. sing.) → rouge (f. sing.)red

  ennuyeux (m. sing.) → ennuyeuse (f. sing.)boring

• At the plural, the masculine form is often created by adding –s to the end, and the feminine by adding –es. Here again, there are many exceptions.
  

  Example:

  intelligents (m. plur.) → intelligentes (f. plur.)

  rouges (m. plur.) → rouges (f. plur.)

  ennuyeux (m. plur.) → ennuyeuses (f. plur.)

You will find more information, many examples, and exercises in our article on adjective endings.

Comparison – comparative and superlative

There are three degrees of comparison for adjectives: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. The positive is the base form of the adjective, while the comparative and superlative allow us to make comparisons.

Example:

Marie est créative. (positive)Marie is creative.

Marie est plus créative que Sophie. (comparative)Marie is more creative than Sophie.

Delphine est la plus créative. (superlative)Delphine is the most creative.

here, the adjective créative appears at three different levels of intensity

Learn more about the comparative and superlative, as well as their exceptions, on our page about the degrees of comparison. Then practise with the exercises.

Position in the sentence

The position of adjectives in a sentence follows a few general rules, although there are of course many exceptions:

• most adjectives are placed after the noun

  Example:

  un jeu amusanta fun game

• some adjectives, such as short adjectives (good, beautiful, pretty, etc.), are placed before the noun

  Example:

  un bon repasa good meal

• some adjectives can be placed either before or after the noun, depending on their meaning

  Example:

  la semaine dernièrelast week

  the week before this one

  la dernière semainethe last week

  the final week

You will find many additional rules, examples, and exceptions in our article on adjective placement, along with numerous exercises at the bottom of the page.