Adjective Endings in French grammar
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In French, the adjective ending (la terminaison de l’adjectif) agrees in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun it is describing.
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Example

Philippe et Justine sont les gentils maîtres de Felix. Félix est un chat blanc. Il est sur le fauteuil jaune et dort. Il rêve du bon lait qu’il a envie de boire. Il a vraiment très soif et pense à un grand bol de lait. Sur la boîte de sa marque préférée il y a une jolie vache.
Singular
- The masculine form is the base form of the adjective.
- Example:
- Félix est un chat blanc.Félix is a white cat.
- The feminine form is usually constructed by adding an -e to the base form.
- Examples:
- Félix pense à une grande boîte de lait.Félix is thinking about a big container of milk.
Félix pense à un grand bol de lait.Félix is thinking about a big bowl of milk.
- If the masculine form of the adjective already ends with -e, it remains the same in the feminine form.
- Examples:
- Félix est sur le fauteuil jaune.Félix is in the yellow armchair.
Félix est sur la chaise jaune.Félix is on the yellow chair.
Exceptions
- If an adjective refers to multiple nouns, of which at least one is masculine, the adjective takes the masculine plural ending.
- Example:
- Philippe et Justine sont les gentils maîtres de Félix. Philippe and Justine are the kind owners of Félix.
- feminine + masculine = masculine plural adjective
- Some adjectives remain unchanged in the feminine and plural forms. These include:
- adjectives made from nouns (exceptions: rose, fauve and mauve)
- Example:
- Il aime les fauteuils orange.He likes orange armchairs.
- multi-word colours
- Example:
- Il aime les fauteuils jaune citron.He likes lemon-yellow armchairs.
- the following colloquial adjectives: chic, super, sympa
- Example:
- Il aime les fauteuils chic.He likes fancy armchairs.
- adjectives made from nouns (exceptions: rose, fauve and mauve)
- Many adjectives have a particular feminine ending.
Masc. ending | Fem. ending | Example |
---|---|---|
-el | -elle | naturel – naturellenatural |
-er | -ère | premier – premièrefirst |
-g | -gue | oblong – oblongueoblong |
-en | -enne | moyen – moyennemedium |
-on | -onne | bon – bonnegood |
-eur | -euse | flatteur – flatteuseflattering |
-f | -ve | passif – passivepassive |
- For adjectives that end with x, c, et, or s in their masculine form, there are various feminine endings. It’s best to look up these exceptions in the dictionary. Here are a few examples:
Masculine | Feminine |
---|---|
faux | faussefalse |
chanceux | chanceuseêtre chanceux = to be lucky |
doux | doucesweet, mild |
public | publiquepublic |
grec | grecqueGreek |
franc | franchefrank |
violet | violetteviolet |
inquiet | inquièteworried |
frais | fraîchefresh |
gras | grassefatty |
- The adjectives beau, vieux, nouveau and fou are special exceptions. They also change their masculine form when the following word begins with a vowel or a silent h.
Masculine before a consonant | Masculine before a vowel or a silent h | Feminine |
---|---|---|
un beau chata beautiful cat | un bel enfanta beautiful child un bel hommea handsome man |
une belle femmea beautiful woman |
un vieux chatan old cat | un vieil immeublean old building un vieil hommean old man |
une vieille femmean old woman |
un nouveau chata new cat | un nouvel enfanta new child un nouvel hommea new man |
une nouvelle femmea new woman |
un chat foua crazy cat | un fol enfanta crazy child un fol hommea crazy man |
une femme follea crazy woman |
Plural
- The masculine plural form is constructed by adding the ending -s.
- Example:
- Il pense à de bons repas.He’s thinking about delicious food.
- If the adjective already ends with -s or -x, it remains the same in the plural.
- Examples:
- J’aime le fromage français.I like French cheese.
J’aime les fromages français.I like French cheeses.
C’est un homme sérieux.He is a serious man.
Ce sont des hommes sérieux.They are serious men.
- The feminine plural form is constructed by adding the ending -es. If the adjective already ends with -e, we only add an -s.
- Examples:
- Il est assis sur une chaise jaune.He is sitting on a yellow chair.
Ils sont assis sur des chaises jaunes.They are sitting on yellow chairs.
- If the adjective ends in -al, the masculine plural form is constructed by adding the ending -aux (the feminine plural form ends in -ales).
But note: For the following adjectives, bancal, fatal, final, natal, naval and banal, we only add an -s to form the plural.
- Example:
- Le musée nationalThe national museum → Les musées nationauxThe national museums
but: Un manteau banalA mundane jacket → Des manteaux banalsMundane jackets