AGREEMENT OF ADJECTIVES
FORMS:
Singular: Masculine = petit riche gris
heureux actif cher
Feminine = petite riche grise
heureuse active chère
Plural: Masculine = petits riches gris
heureux riches gris
Feminine = petites riches grises
heureuses actives chères
NOTE: The feminine singular of adjectives is regularly formed by adding "e" to the masculine singular. If the masculine already ends in mute "e," the feminine is the same: riche, riche.
The plural is regularly formed by adding "s" to the masculine or feminine singular. If the masculine singular ends in "s" or "x," the masculine plural is the same: gris, gris / heureux, heureux.
The feminine of adjectives ending in "x," "f," and "er" is formed by changing "x" to "se," "f" to "ve," and "er" to "ère:" heureux, heureuse / actif, active / cher, chère.
AGREEMENT
French adjectives agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the nouns or pronouns they modify:
La table est petite. (The table is small.)
Sont-ils riches? (Are they rich?"
Le cheval est gris. (The horse is gray.)
Irène at sa soeur sont heureuses. (Irene and her sister are happy.)
Les enfants sont actifs. (the children are active.)
Est-ce que la robe est chère? (Is the dress dear/expensive?)
An adjective modifying two or more nouns of DIFFERENT genders is in the masculine plural:
M. et Mme Lebrun sont fatigués. (Mr. and Mrs. Brown are tired.)
SOME COMMON ADJECTIVES: (adjectives are always given in the masculine singular form)
Like "petit:"
allemand (German)
américain (American)
bleu (blue)
brun (brown)
commun (common)
content (glad)
court (short)
diligent (industrious)
espagnol (Spanish)
fatigué (tired)
fort (strong)
gai ()
grand (large, tall)
haut (high/tall)
intelligent (intelligent)
intéressant (interesting)
joli (pretty)
laid (ugly)
lourd (heavy)
méchant (naughty, wicked)
noir (black)
plein (full)
poli (polite)
prochain (next)
vert (green)
vrai (true)
like "riche:"
aimable (kind)
autre (other)
brave (brave)
difficile (difficult)
facile (easy)
faible (weak)
jaune (yellow
jeune (young)
malade (sick, ill)
pauvre (poor)
rouge (red)
triste (sad)
utile (useful)
vide (emty)
like "gris:"
anglais (English)
français (French)
mauvais (bad)
like "heureux:"
malheureux (unhappy)
paresseux (lazy)
like "actif:"
attentif (attentive)
neuf (new, brand new)
like "cher:"
dernier (last)
étranger (foreign)
fier (proud)
léger (light, in weight)
premier (first)
NOTE: If you can memorize all these adjectives, you will have a great vocabulary! We are only doing regular adjectives for the moment until you meet some irregular ones (like beau, bel, belle, beaux, belles.)
ADJECTIVES OF NATIONALITY: (since you have been using these)
Masculine Feminine
algérien algérienne = Algerian
allemand allemande = German
américain américaine = American
anglais anglaise = English
belge belge = Belgian
canadien canadienne = Canadian
chinois chinoise = Chinese
espagnol espagnole = Spanish
français française = French
italien italienne = Italian
japonais japonaise = Japanese
marocain marocaine = Moroccan
mexicain mexicaine = Mexican
portugais portugaise = Portuguese
russe russe = Russian
sénégalais sénégalaise = Senegalese
suisse suisse = Swiss
tunisien tunisienne = Tunisian
vietnamien vietnamienne = Vietnamese
When these words are used as adjectives, they are NOT capitalized BUT they can also be used as nouns, and then they ARE capitalized.
(Il est russe. = He is Russian. / Le Russe ne parle pas anglais. = The Russian (man) does not speak English.)
OK. Enough grammar for a bit. Let's move on to some verbs. BTW, when it comes to vocabulary, invest in a good paper back dictionary (French to English/English to French) as an investment in your "future!" There are some online if you'd like them. Just ask.
Mme