Adjective Endings in French grammar

What do I need to know about adjective endings in French?

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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Contents

Voici mon café préféré. Jeanne, la propriétaire, est une fille très sympa. Elle sert les meilleurs cafés du quartier !

J’aime beaucoup la décoration : les murs sont bleus et verts, les tasses rouges, orange et jaune-citron. Les chaises sont très confortables. Le mobilier ancien a beaucoup de charme.

Aujourd’hui, j’ai commandé une grande tasse de thé et une part de ce gâteau qui a l’air délicieux. Miam !

French adjective endings in the singular

French changes the ending of adjectives to reflect the gender of the noun being described:

  • for masculine singular nouns, use the base form of the adjective (i.e. without an additional ending)
Example:
Voici mon café préféré. This is my favourite café.
Le mobilier ancien a beaucoup de charme. The antique furniture has a lot of charm.
  • for feminine singular nouns, we usually add the ending -e to the base form of the adjective
Example:
J’ai commandé une grande tasse de thé. I’ve ordered a large cup of tea.
feminine singular noun (une tasse) → grand + e
  • if the base form of the adjective already ends in an -e, it remains the same in the feminine form
    Examples:
    Aujourd’hui, j’ai un verre rouge. Today, I have a red glass.
    Aujourd’hui, j’ai une tasse rouge. Today, I have a red cup.

Exceptions

Certain French adjectives have special endings in the feminine singular:

Feminine singular adjective endings

Masculine Ending Feminine 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

Feminine endings for adjectives ending in -x, -c, -et, -s

For adjectives ending in -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

beau, vieux, nouveau and fou

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 form before a consonant Masculine form before a vowel or a silent h Feminine form
un beau parquetbeautiful parquet un bel arbrea beautiful tree
un bel hommea handsome man		 une belle terrassea beautiful terrace
un vieux fauteilan old armchair un vieil immeublean old building
un vieil hommean old man		 une vieille chaisean old chair
un nouveau comptoira new counter un nouvel arrivanta new arrival
un nouvel hommea new man		 une nouvelle tablea new table
un voisin foua crazy neighbour un fol artistea mad artist
un fol hommea mad man		 une voisine follea crazy neighbour

Some French adjectives are also invariable; their endings remain unchanged regardless of the type of noun being described. Jump ahead to learn about invariable adjectives, or keep reading to learn about plural adjective endings in French.

French adjective endings in the plural

The masculine plural form is formed by adding the ending -s to the base form of the adjective.

Example:
Elle sert les meilleurs cafés du quartier ! She serves the best coffees in the neighbourhood.

If the base form already ends with -s or -x, it remains unchanged in the plural

Examples:
Ce gâteau est délicieux. → Ces gâteaux sont délicieux. This cake is delicious. → These cakes are delicious.

The feminine plural form is constructed by adding the ending -es to the base form of the adjective. If the base form already ends in -e, we just add -s.

Examples:
Elle sert les meilleures pâtisseries du quartier. She serves the best pastries in the neighbourhood.
Les chaises sont très confortables. The chairs are very comfortable.

If the base form of an adjective ends in -al, the masculine plural form is constructed with the ending -aux and the feminine plural with -ales.

Example:
Le musée national. → Les musées nationaux. The national museum(s).

Note: the following adjectives do not follow the above pattern: bancal, fatal, final, natal, naval and banal; they form their plural by adding an -s.

Example:
Un manteau banal. → Des manteaux banals. Mundane jacket(s)

Info

When an adjective refers to two or more nouns and at least one is masculine, the corresponding adjective takes the masculine plural ending.

Example:
Les verres et les tasses sont bleus. The glasses and the cups are blue.
masculine plural noun (les verres) + feminine plural noun (les tasses) = masculine plural adjective ending

Invariable adjectives in French grammar

Certain adjectives are invariable in both the singular and the plural; i.e., their endings remain unchanged regardless of the noun they modify.

French invariable adjectives include:

  • colour adjectives made from nouns (exceptions: rose, fauve and mauve)
Example:
Il y a des tasses orange. There are orange cups.
not: des tasses oranges
  • compound colours
Examples:
Il y a aussi une tasse jaune citron. There is also a lemon-yellow cup.
not: une tasse jaune citrone
Il y a aussi des tasses jaune citron. There are also lemon-yellow cups.
not: des tasses jaune citrones
  • the following colloquial adjectives: chic, super, sympa
Examples:
Jeanne, la propriétaire, est très sympa. Jeanne, the owner, is very nice.
not: est très sympae
Jeanne et Amélie, les propriétaires, sont très sympa. Jeanne and Amélie, the owners, are very nice.
not: sont très sympas