Gramática inglesa
Gramática rusa

French Adjective Agreement

Adjective agreement is a fundamental grammar rule in French. Descriptive adjectives must always match the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun (or pronoun) they describe.

1. Basic Agreement Rules

Adjectives take the gender and number of the noun they modify:

Noun

Adjective Form

Example

Masculine Singular

Base form

un garçon intelligent

Feminine Singular

+ -e (usually)

une fille intelligente

Masculine Plural

+ -s

des garçons intelligents

Feminine Plural

+ -es

des filles intelligentes

Exceptions:

  • Adjectives ending in -e (e.g., jeune) don’t change in feminine singular (une fille jeune).
  • Some irregular forms:

2. Tricky Cases

A. Multiple Nouns

  • Same gender: Adjective agrees in gender and plural.
    • Une pomme et une poire mûres (feminine plural).
    • Un chien et un chat noirs (masculine plural).
  • Mixed genders: Adjective becomes masculine plural.
    • Un garçon et une fille blonds.
    • Une table et un fauteuil anciens.

B. Compound Color Adjectives

  • Invariable if the color is:
    • A noun (orange, marron): des robes orange.
    • Multi-word (bleu clair): des yeux bleu marine.
  • Agree if a simple color: des fleurs rouges.

3. Key Exceptions

  • Adjectives of beauty/age/goodness/size (BAGS) often come before the noun and still agree:
    • un beau livre → une belle maison.
  • Adjectives ending in -s or -x stay the same in masculine plural:
    • un homme heureux → des hommes heureux.

Why It Matters

Proper adjective agreement ensures accuracy and elegance in French. When in doubt, check our Conjugation and Declension tool!