Gender rules of Qualifying Adjectives in French

The Rules – Gender (masculine & feminine) of Qualifying Adjectives

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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	vielle	old

 

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)
• inquiet – inquiette – inquiète (worry)
• discret – discrette – discrète (discreet)

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

But if the masculine adjectives, beau, nouveau, vieux are followed by a noun beginning with a vowel or silent “h” at the singular, they are pronounced the same way as the feminine form, but different spelling.

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.