Day 21 — Adjective Agreement

1. Topic Introduction

Adjective agreement means that a descriptive adjective must change its form so that it matches the noun it describes.

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In French, every adjective must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number

This means:

• masculine noun → masculine adjective
• feminine noun → feminine adjective
• singular noun → singular adjective
• plural noun → plural adjective

This rule is one of the central systems of French grammar and must become automatic because it appears in every level of French, from beginner to C1.

Compare:

French Sentence	Meaning	Pronunciation
Un livre intéressant	An interesting book	uh(n) leevr ahn-tay-ray-sahn
Une histoire intéressante	An interesting story	oon ees-twar ahn-tay-ray-sahnt

The adjective changes because the noun changes from masculine to feminine.

2. Core Principle of Agreement

The adjective always follows the noun’s grammar, not the speaker’s idea.

Noun Type	Adjective Form
masculine singular	masculine singular adjective
feminine singular	feminine singular adjective
masculine plural	masculine plural adjective
feminine plural	feminine plural adjective

Full Example

Form	French Expression	Meaning
masculine singular	un petit livre	a small book
feminine singular	une petite table	a small table
masculine plural	des petits livres	small books
feminine plural	des petites tables	small tables

This four-form system is the foundation of adjective agreement.

3. Masculine Singular: Base Form

The masculine singular is usually the basic dictionary form.

Examples

Adjective	Meaning	Pronunciation
petit	small	puh-tee
grand	big / tall	grahn
intelligent	intelligent	ahn-tel-ee-zhahn
calme	calm	calm

Sentence Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Un petit sac	A small bag
Un grand jardin	A big garden
Un homme intelligent	An intelligent man

This is the starting form from which other forms are built.

4. Feminine Singular: Main Rule

The most common feminine rule is:

add e to the masculine form.

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
petit	petite	small
grand	grande	big
lent	lente	slow

Sentence Examples

French Sentence	Meaning	Pronunciation
Une petite table	A small table	oon puh-teet tabl
Une grande maison	A big house	oon grahnd meh-zon
Une voiture lente	A slow car	oon vwa-tyur lahnt

Important:

Many feminine forms are visible in writing more than in pronunciation.

5. Feminine Singular: Special Patterns

Not all adjectives simply add e. Some follow spelling changes.

Pattern 1: Double Final Consonant + e

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
bon	bonne	good
mignon	mignonne	cute

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Un bon livre	A good book
Une bonne idée	A good idea

Pattern 2: f becomes ve

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
sportif	sportive	athletic
actif	active	active

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Un garçon sportif	An athletic boy
Une fille sportive	An athletic girl

Pattern 3: x becomes se

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
heureux	heureuse	happy
sérieux	sérieuse	serious

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Un homme heureux	A happy man
Une femme heureuse	A happy woman

Pattern 4: Irregular Forms

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
beau	belle	beautiful
nouveau	nouvelle	new
vieux	vieille	old

These must be memorised carefully.

6. Masculine Plural: Main Rule

For masculine plural, the normal rule is:

add s.

Masculine Singular	Masculine Plural
petit	petits
grand	grands
intelligent	intelligents

Sentence Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Des petits sacs	Small bags
Des grands jardins	Big gardens
Des étudiants intelligents	Intelligent students

Important:

The final s is often silent.

7. Feminine Plural: Main Rule

For feminine plural:

start with feminine singular, then add s.

Feminine Singular	Feminine Plural
petite	petites
grande	grandes
intelligente	intelligentes

Sentence Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Des petites tables	Small tables
Des grandes maisons	Big houses
Des étudiantes intelligentes	Intelligent female students

This creates the full four-form agreement system.

8. Full Comparison Table

Type	Masculine Singular	Feminine Singular	Masculine Plural	Feminine Plural
small	petit	petite	petits	petites
big	grand	grande	grands	grandes
intelligent	intelligent	intelligente	intelligents	intelligentes
happy	heureux	heureuse	heureux	heureuses

This table must be reviewed regularly because it reflects the full agreement logic.

9. Agreement with Colour Adjectives

Most colour adjectives also agree normally.

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
bleu	bleue	blue
vert	verte	green
noir	noire	black

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning
Un sac bleu	A blue bag
Une robe bleue	A blue dress
Des voitures noires	Black cars

10. Agreement After Être

Adjectives also agree after être.

Structure

Structure	Meaning
noun + être + adjective	noun described after verb

Examples

French Sentence	Meaning	Pronunciation
La maison est grande.	The house is big	lah meh-zon eh grahnd
Les maisons sont grandes.	The houses are big	lay meh-zon son grahnd
Le garçon est heureux.	The boy is happy	luh gar-son eh œ-rœ
La fille est heureuse.	The girl is happy	lah fee-y eh œ-rœz

Agreement still follows the noun even after the verb.

11. Agreement with Multiple Nouns

When one adjective describes multiple nouns, plural agreement is required.

Masculine + Feminine Together

Masculine plural usually dominates.

French Sentence	Meaning
Le garçon et la fille sont intelligents.	The boy and the girl are intelligent

Even though one noun is feminine, masculine plural is used because masculine is present.

Feminine Only

French Sentence	Meaning
La table et la chaise sont petites.	The table and the chair are small

12. Position Does Not Change Agreement

Even if adjective position changes, agreement remains necessary.

French Sentence	Meaning
Une grande maison	A big house
Une maison moderne	A modern house

The adjective may move, but agreement always remains.

13. Frequent Agreement Mistakes to Avoid

Incorrect	Correct	Reason
une petit table	une petite table	feminine required
des grand livres	des grands livres	plural required
une homme intelligent	un homme intelligent	noun article incorrect

Agreement must be checked every time you write.

14. Vocabulary

French Word	Gender	Meaning	Pronunciation
le sac	masculine	bag	luh sak
la table	feminine	table	lah tabl
la maison	feminine	house	lah meh-zon
le jardin	masculine	garden	luh zhar-dan
le garçon	masculine	boy	luh gar-son
la fille	feminine	girl	lah fee-y
le livre	masculine	book	luh leevr
la robe	feminine	dress	lah rob
l’idée	feminine	idea	lee-day
l’homme	masculine	man	lom
la femme	feminine	woman	lah fam

15. Mini Paragraph

Une petite maison blanche est près de l’école. Les grandes fenêtres sont ouvertes. Un garçon heureux lit un livre intéressant. Une fille heureuse écrit une bonne idée dans son cahier.

Meaning:

A small white house is near the school. The big windows are open. A happy boy reads an interesting book. A happy girl writes a good idea in her notebook.

16. Memory Practice

French Sentence	Meaning
Un petit chat	A small cat
Une petite chaise	A small chair
Des grands livres	Big books
Des grandes maisons	Big houses
Une robe bleue	A blue dress
Le garçon est intelligent.	The boy is intelligent
Les filles sont intelligentes.	The girls are intelligent

Summary Notes

Concept	Key Rule
adjective agreement	adjective follows noun gender and number
masculine singular	basic form
feminine singular	often add e
masculine plural	usually add s
feminine plural	feminine form + s
spelling changes	some adjectives change form irregularly
colour adjectives	usually agree normally
after être	agreement still required
mixed nouns	masculine plural dominates
key learning point	every adjective must be checked against the noun

The most important lesson today is this: in French, adjective agreement is not optional; every adjective must always reflect the noun it describes in both gender and number.