Understanding qualifying adjectives in French starts with mastering their gender agreement, since each adjective changes form to match a masculine or feminine noun.
With regular practice, applying these gender rules to qualifying adjectives in French will become second nature. For a deeper grammatical breakdown, see this overview of French grammar.
The Rules – Gender Agreement of Qualifying Adjectives in French
A qualifying adjective is a variable word that precedes or follows a noun or pronoun.
It gives information about the character of a person, his appearance, the colour of an animal or an object, for example:
Luc est grand – Luc is tall
Mon chien est noir et blanc – My dog is black and white Je suis nerveux – I am nervous
In French, the qualifying adjective agrees in gender (masculine, feminine) and in number (singular or plural) with the noun or pronoun it specifies, for example:
Ma voisine a acheté une nouvelle voiture, et de nouvelles chaussures pour ses enfants.
My neighbor bought a new car, and new shoes for her children. Mes anciens élèves sont tous devenus bons en français. My former students have all become good at French.
A qualifying adjective is an epithet adjective when it is placed directly next to the noun or pronoun it qualifies. It can be removed from a sentence, for example:
J’aime les fleurs vertes – I like green flowers J’ai des petits poissons dans mon aquarium – I have small fish in my aquarium A qualifying adjective is an attribute of the subject when it is separated from the noun or pronoun it qualifies by a verb of state (to be, to seem, to become, to remain, to make, to appear…). It agrees in gender and number with the subject and it cannot be deleted from the sentence.
Cet homme est heureux – This man is happy
Il semble fatigué – He seems tired
So you just need to remember:
A qualifying adjective is an epithet adjective when it is placed directly next to a noun that it qualifies. A qualifying adjective is an attribute of the subject when it is separated from the noun by a state verb.
The different feminine form of French adjectives
Adjectives Ending in a Consonant (Add “e”)
The feminine form of adjectives in French is most of the time formed by adding an “e”.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| grand | grande | big/tall |
| petit | petite | small |
| rond | ronde | round |
Adjectives Already Ending in “e” (No Change)
The adjectives ending with an “e” at the masculine form in French, do not change at the feminine.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| calme | calme | calm/quiet |
| solide | solide | solid/strong |
| timide | timide | shy |
Adjectives Ending in “i”, “ai”, “u”
For the adjectives ending with the vowels “i”, “ai”, “u”, etc., you just need to add an “e” at the feminine form.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| poli | polie | polite |
| têtu | têtue | stubborn |
| vrai | vraie | true |
Adjectives Ending in “on” and “ien”
For the adjectives ending with “on” and “ien”, we double their final consonant and add an “e” at the feminine form.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| bon | bonne | good |
| ancien | ancienne | old/former |
| aérien | aérienne | aerial |
Adjectives Ending in “el”, “ul” and “eil”
The adjectives ending with “el”, “ul” and “eil”, also double their final consonant and add an “e” at the feminine.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| bel | belle | handsome/beautiful |
| nul | nulle | bad/rubbish |
| vieil | vieille | old |
Adjectives Ending in “et”
The adjectives ending with “et”, also double their final consonant and add an “e” at the feminine.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| coquet | coquette | coquettish |
| muet | muette | mute |
| net | nette | clean/clear |
However, we have exception for some masculine adjectives ending with “et” such as complet, désuet, discret, inquiet… They are ending with “ète” instead of “ette”, for example:
- complet –
complette– complète (full) - désuet –
désuette– désuète (outdated) - discret –
discrette– discrète (discreet) - inquiet –
inquiette– inquiète (worried)
Adjectives Ending in “ot”
For the masculine adjectives ending with “ot”, the feminine form ends with “ote”, except pâlot, sot, vieillot…. which end in “otte”.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| idiot | idiote | idiot/stupid |
| petiot | petiote | little one |
| vieillot | vieillotte | old-fashioned |
Adjectives Ending in “s”
For the masculine adjectives ending with “s”, the feminine form ends with “se”, except for bas, épais, gros… which end with “sse” at the feminine. To make it more complicated there is another exception, frais (fresh), becomes fraîche at the feminine, not fraise or fraisse.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| gris | grise | grey |
| bas | basse | low |
| gros | grosse | fat |
Adjectives Ending in “x”
The French masculine adjectives ending with “x”, end with “se” at the feminine form, except doux, faux, roux…. which end with “ce” or “sse”.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| nerveux | nerveuse | nervous |
| doux | douce | soft/sweet |
| roux | rousse | redheaded |
Adjectives Ending in “er”
The masculine adjectives ending with “er”, end with “ère” at the feminine form.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| premier | première | first |
| laitier | laitière | dairy |
| dernier | dernière | last |
Adjectives Ending in “f”
The masculine adjectives ending with “f”, end with “ve” at the feminine form.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| neuf | neuve | new |
| abrasif | abrasive | abrasive |
| dépressif | dépressive | depressive |
Adjectives Ending in “c”
The French masculine adjectives ending with “c” are often ending with “che” at the feminine.
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| franc | franche | frank |
| blanc | blanche | white |
| sec | sèche | dry |
Irregular Adjectives: Beau, Nouveau, Fou, Mou, Vieux
The masculine adjectives, beau (beautiful), nouveau (new), fou (crazy), mou (soft), vieux (old) become the following at the feminine form:
| Masculine Form | Feminine Form | English |
| beau | belle | beautiful |
| nouveau | nouvelle | new |
| fou | folle | crazy |
| mou | molle | soft |
| vieux | vieille | old |
Beau, nouveau and vieux also change their spelling (though not their pronunciation) when they come right before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or a silent “h”. In that case they take a special liaison form that sounds just like the feminine:
- Un beau garçon, un bel homme, une belle femme – a beautiful boy, a beautiful man, a beautiful woman
- Un vieux garçon, un vieil homme, une vieille femme – an old boy, an old man, an old woman
- Un nouveau canapé, un nouvel ordinateur, une nouvelle table – a new sofa, a new computer, a new table
Fou and mou have similar, though rarer and more literary, forms – fol and mol – used the same way before a vowel or silent “h”, as in un fol espoir (a crazy hope) or un mol oreiller (a soft pillow). You are more likely to meet them in literature than in everyday conversation.
To sum up: most French adjectives simply add an “e” at the feminine form, and the ending of the masculine form usually tells you what to expect, whether that means doubling the final consonant, switching “x” for “se”, or learning one of the irregular pairs like beau/belle and vieux/vieille. The best way to make these rules stick is to practice with real sentences, so try describing the people and objects around you using the adjectives from this lesson.
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