DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
Words that modifie
nouns or pronouns are called adjectives. If these adjectives
describe the nouns they modify, they are called descriptive or qualitative
adjectives. In French, descriptive adjectives agree in gender and number
with the nouns they modify. This is not the case in English.
How do you change an adjective from the masculine singular to
the feminine singular?
-
Most adjectives form the feminine singular by adding an e to the
masculine singular. This e is not pronounced. If the masculine singular
already ends in such an e, then the masculine and the feminine singular
forms are identical.
Masculine singular
|
Feminine singular
|
froissé |
froissée |
lent |
lente |
...une poutre branlante vient menaçant de loin la foule
(Boileau)
Cette petite citadine en vacances...n'était-ce pas moi?
(Favreau)
Ai-je vécu ces soirées paisibles sur la galerie camouflée
de vigne sauvage...? (Favreau)
Notre vraie vie était ici. (Favreau)
-
Some feminine singular endings are irregular.
Change
|
Masculine singular
|
Feminine singular
|
|
|
|
x-------> se |
ambitieux |
ambitieuse |
er-----> ère |
cher |
chère |
f------> ve |
lucratif |
lucrative |
c------> que |
public |
publique |
g------> gue |
long |
longue |
eur----> euse (if adjective is based on
the present participle) |
travailleur |
travailleuse |
eur----> rice (if adjective is not based
on the present participle) |
destructeur |
destructrice |
eur---->eure |
antérieur
postérieur
intérieur
extérieur
mineur
majeur
supérieur
inférieur
meilleur |
antérieure
postérieure
intérieure
extérieure
mineure
majeure
supérieure
inférieure
meilleure |
double the consonant + e |
professionnel
pareil
ancien
gras
gros
coquet |
professionnelle
pareille
ancienne
grasse
grosse
coquette |
et------>ète |
complet
concret
discret
inquiet
secret |
complète
concrète
discrète
inquiète
secrète |
On en fera...des maisons basses (Favreau)
Elle restait songeuse...(Hémon)
...pleine d'étoiles grosses comme des lunes...(Hémon)
...dès la première fonte des neiges...(Savard)
Ils se promenaient des heures entières. (Perec)
Ils entraient dans un restaurant avec une joie rituelle. (Perec)
-
Certain common adjectives have irregular feminine singular forms.
Masculine singular
|
Feminine singular
|
|
|
beau |
belle |
blanc |
blanche |
bon |
bonne |
doux |
douce |
favori |
favorite |
faux |
fausse |
fou |
folle |
frais |
fraîche |
franc |
franche |
gentil |
gentille |
malin |
maligne |
mou |
molle |
nouveau |
nouvelle |
sec |
sèche |
vieux |
vieille |
Voici la vieille maison normande, blanche à volets
verts. (Favreau)
Les rues étaient longues. (Perec)
-
Five of these irregular adjectives have a second masculine form that is
used before nouns beginning with a vowel or a silent h.
beau |
bel |
fou |
fol |
mou |
mol |
nouveau |
nouvel |
vieux |
vieil |
These adjectives, however, only have one form in the masculine plural.
How do you change a singular adjective into a plural adjective?
-
Some masculine adjectives have irregular plurals.
change
|
masculine singular
|
masculine plural
|
|
|
|
x (no change) |
paresseux |
paresseux |
s (no change) |
gris |
gris |
eau------->eaux |
nouveau |
nouveaux |
al--------->aux |
moral |
moraux |
al--------->als |
banal
fatal
final
naval |
banals
fatals
finals
navals |
Il avait encore sa figure imberbe d'enfant...à traits
indécis...(Hémon)
...leurs projets merveilleux. (Perec)
Where should you place the adjective?
After the noun
In English, descriptive adjectives are placed in front of the noun they
modify. In French, they are usually placed after the noun they modify.
Six chevaux attelés à ce fardeau pesant ont
peine à l'émouvoir sur le pavé glissant...(Boileau)
Adjectives of color, religion, nationality, and class, however, are almost
always placed
after the noun. Remember that adjectives of nationality
are not capitalized in French.
Before the noun
-
Some short, common adjectives are normally placed in front of the noun.
autre |
beau |
bon |
grand |
gros |
haut |
jeune |
joli |
long |
mauvais |
nouveau |
petit |
premier |
vieux |
vilain |
Cette petite citadine en vacances...n'était-ce pas moi?
(Favreau)
...je cherchais un joli passé à la vieille dame
que je suis devenue (Favreau)
La grande maison...la haie de cèdres...l'éolienne
(Favreau)
Parce qu'une autoroute en construction oblige le chaufeur à
effectuer un long détour...(Favreau)
Je vois d'un autre coup mon chapeau renversé. (Boileau)
-
Certain adjectives have one meaning when they are found in front of the
noun and another meaning when they are after the noun.
un ancien professeur
a former professor |
une maison ancienne
an old (or ancient) house |
un brave homme
a (morally) good man |
un capitaine brave
a courageous captain |
une certaine brillance
une certaine personne
a degree of brilliance
an unspecified person |
un résultat certain
a sure result |
son cher mari
her dear husband |
une voiture chère
an expensive car |
le même moment
the same moment |
le moment même
the very moment (emphatic) |
la pauvre femme
the poor (unfortunate) woman |
la femme pauvre
the poor woman (not rich) |
sa propre chambre
his/her own room |
une chambre propre
a clean room |
une simple remarque
a mere remark |
une personne simple
a simple person (plain, simple-minded) |
la seule réponse
the only answer |
un enfant seul
a child alone (by himself) |
le dernier film
the last film (in a series) |
le mois dernier
last month (the one just passed) |
la prochaine question
the next question (in a series) |
la semaine prochaine
next week (the one coming) |
-
Some descriptive adjectives can be placed in front of the noun they modify
in order to give them special emphasis. In this case the adjective is pronounced
in a more emphatic tone of voice in order to stress it.
What do you do when two adjectives describe the same noun?
-
If one adjective usually precedes the noun and the other usually follows
it, place them in their normal position.
...dans le mince ruisseau glaiseux... (Favreau)
Voici la vieille maison normande... (Favreau)
...un Jésus aux immenses yeux bleus...(Hémon)
une autre image représentant quelque sainte femme inconnue...(Hémon)
-
If both adjectives normally precede the noun, place both of them
either before or after the noun and join them with the conjunction et.
-
If both adjectives normally follow the noun, place both of them after
it and join them with et.
You may juxtapose two adjectives if the first adjective describes a word
group composed of the second adjective and the noun. You may then
place both adjectives in their normal position before or after the noun.
...à propos d'une autre petite fille (Favreau)
Agreement of Adjectives
French adjectives generally agree in number (singular, plural) and gender
(masculine, feminine) with the noun or pronoun they describe.
EXCEPTION: The adjective demi is invariable and joined to the
noun by a hyphen when it precedes the noun. it agrees, however, in gender
with the noun when it comes after.
An adjective that describes more than one noun is plural. If the
gender of the nouns is different, the masculine plural form of the adjective
is used. If both nouns are of the same gender, the adjective is,
of course, in that gender.