Adjectives - agreement
1 Definitions Adjectives are words that give information about a
noun
. Most often adjectives
give descriptive information about a noun (as in The
book is red ), and these are called
qualificative adjectives .
Agreement is a grammatical way of showing that a particular word or
phrase
relates to another e.g. by means of a word ending.
2 Agreements
2.1 GeneralIn French adjectives must agree with the noun(s) they refer to. If a
noun is
feminine
, then all adjectives referring to it must also be feminine. Generally adjectives take an -e in the
feminine:
un acteur connu
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a well-known actor
une actrice connue
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a well-known actress
Elle porte une jupe grise.
She’s wearing a grey skirt.
Elle a eu une journée fatigante au travail aujourd’hui.
She had a tiring day at work today.
Elle commence à être un peu déçue de son attitude.
She’s beginning to get a little disappointed with his attitude.
Il portait une cravate bleue à pois blancs.
He was wearing a blue tie with white spots.
Il a été sélectionné pour l’équipe nationale.
He’s been selected for the national team.
If a noun is
plural
, then all adjectives referring to it must also be
plural. Generally adjectives take an -s in the plural:
un acteur connu
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a well-known actor
des acteurs connus
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well-known actors
Il a les cheveux très courts.
He’s got very short hair.
Nos voisins sont des gens très accueillants.
Our neighbours are very welcoming people.
Ils n’étaient pas du tout contents du repas.
They weren’t at all pleased with the meal.
Ses arguments ne sont guère convaincants.
His arguments aren’t very convincing.
Tes cheveux sont tout mouillés.
Your hair is all wet.
If a noun is both
feminine
and
plural
, then all adjectives referring to it must also be feminine and plural. Generally adjectives will take -es :
une actrice connue
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a well-known actress
des actrices connues
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well-known actresses
Ce ne sont pas des filles très polies.
They aren’t very polite girls.
Ses visites deviennent de plus en plus fréquentes.
His visits are becoming more and more frequent.
Les boutiques ne sont pas encore ouvertes à cette heure-ci.
The shops aren’t open yet at this time.
J’ai acheté des poires et des pommes vertes.
I bought some pears and some green apples.
Tu vois la femme aux lunettes noires? C’est une grande actrice.
Can you see the woman with dark glasses? She’s a great actress.
2.2 No changeAdjectives which already end with an -e or -s
remain unchanged:
un homme maigre
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a thin man
une femme maigre
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a thin woman
un plafond bas
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a low ceiling
des plafonds bas
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low ceilings
Laisser tremper les crevettes dans de l’eau tiède.
Soak the prawns in lukewarm water.
C’est une chaise très confortable.
It’s a very comfortable chair.
Les syndicats se plaignent de la faible augmentation des salaires l’an passé.
The unions are complaining about the small increase in salaries in the past year.
Elle voulait lui parler mais elle était trop timide.
She wanted to talk to him but she was too shy.
Cette surface est lisse et brillante.
This surface is smooth and polished.
2.3 Irregular formsMany adjectives have
irregular
feminine
and
plural
forms:
Table 31.2.3a: Irregular adjectives (1)
ending masc sing masc pl fem sing fem pl
-al
national nationaux nationale nationales
-c public publics publique publiques
-el réel réels réelle réelles
-en moyen moyens moyenne moyennes
-er léger légers légère légères
-eux sérieux sérieux sérieuse sérieuses
-f vif vifs vive vives
Cette robe était très chère.
This dress was very expensive.
Elle a démissionné pour des raisons personnelles.
She resigned for personal reasons.
Le Premier ministre a annoncé un train de mesures pour améliorer les services publics.
The Prime Minister has announced a series of measures to improve public services.
Sa contribution au projet a été significative .
His contribution to the project has been significant.
Il a fallu des discussions inter-gouvernementales pour résoudre ce problème.
Inter-governmental discussions were needed in order to resolve this problem.
However, some adjectives do not follow any of these patterns:
Table 31.2.3b: Wholly irregular adjectival forms
masculine feminine / plural un sujet banal des propos banals a banal subject banal remarks un cheval blanc la Maison Blanche a white horse the White House un séjour bref une apparition brève a short stay a brief appearance un esprit créateur une personne créatrice a creative mind a creative person un échec complet une collection complète a complete failure a complete collection un tissu doux la peau douce a soft material soft skin un tapis épais une couche épaisse a thick rug a thick layer un faux numéro une fausse alerte a wrong number a false alarm un poème favori une histoire favorite a favourite film a favourite story un portrait flatteur une photographie flatteuse a flattering portrait a flattering photograph un chien fou un histoire folle a mad dog a crazy stor de l’air frais de l’eau fraîche fresh air fresh water un soldat grec une salade grecque a Greek soldier a Greek salad un long film une longue lettre a long film a long letter le secteur naval des chantiers navals the shipbuilding sector shipyards le salaire net une perte nette net salary net loss des cheveux roux une barbe rousse red hair a red beard un vin sec une matière sèche a dry wine a dry material un vieux couple une vieille femme an old couple an old woman
Ce chapitre est consacré aux combats navals de la guerre du Pacifique.
This chapter is devoted to the naval battles of the Pacific war.
Nous allons commencer avec une salade grecque.
We’re going to start with a Greek salad.
Elle s’est acheté un chemisier à manches longues .
She bought herself a long-sleeve blouse.
Pour son anniversaire je lui ai acheté les oeuvres complètes de Shakespeare.
For his birthday I bought him the complete works of Shakespeare.
La rivière est très basse en ce moment, il n’a pas plu depuis longtemps.
The river is very low at the moment, it hasn’t rained for a long time.
2.4 Special masculine formsSome adjectives have special
masculine
forms ending in -l
which are used before a
vowel
or an h treated
as a vowel:
un beau paysage
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a pretty landscape
un bel oiseau
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a pretty bird
un nouveau rapport
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a new report
un nouvel hôpital
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a pretty bird
un vieux professeur
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a new report
un vieil homme
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an old man
Selon le magazine, un beau divorcé ne fait pas toujours un bel époux.
According to the magazine, a handsome divorcee does not always make a good husband.
Ils viennent de sortir un nouvel album.
They’ve just brought out a new album.
Michel est un vieil ami de la famille.
Michel is an old friend of the family.
2.5 Adjectives not taking an agreementA very small number of adjectives do not agree in the normal manner. Some, such as chic (stylish ), snob (snobbish ) and kaki (khaki ) do not have a feminine form, and sometimes do not take a plural form:
Elle est très chic / Ils sont très chic (s )
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She's very chic / They're very chic
Ma voisine est très snob / Nos voisins sont très snob( s)
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My neighbour's very snobbish / Our neighbours are very snobbish
Others, such as the indefinite adjective plusieurs (several ) and most
nouns
used as adjectives of colour take no
agreement
:
Elle a des cheveux marron
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She's got brown hair
Elle porte des chaussures orange
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She's wearing orange shoes
Mon amie Christine est sympa.
My friend Christine is nice.
Nous avons commandé une demi-bouteille de Bollanger
We ordered a half-bottle of Bollanger.
Ma cousine Marie-Chantal est très snob.
My cousin Marie-Chantal is very snobbish.
Elle est allée chez Christian Dior où elle a essayé plusieurs choses.
She went into Christian Dior where she tried on a few things.
Il portait une montre très chic.
He was wearing a very stylish watch.
