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Let’s kick start our study of the French language by learning one of the most colorful parts of speech there is: adjectives, or in French, adjectifs.

In case you need a little reminder on what adjectives are, here’s a quick run through:







Adjectives are words which are used to describe, identify, modify or quantify a noun. These are descriptive words which tell you more about a person or thing, like what it looks like, how big it is, what color is it, how many are there, and basically other sorts of details about the subject.


Here a some examples of adjectives in English:

pretty, cute, terrifying, awesome, amazing, enormous, blue, pale, heavy, grainy, soft, snappy, old-fashioned, scary

…so anyway, you got our point.

But why should adjectives be studied anyway?

Aside from the fact that it describes a word and answers the question, “what kind of..?”, it also makes your speech or writing vibrant and exciting. Now who wouldn’t want to come off as an interesting speaker, right? Especially for a romantic language like French, inserting the right (fabulous!) descriptions would make a whole lot of difference.


Note: This learning guide is divided into different parts with a quick recap after each topic. You can read the entire article in one seating, or you can choose to digest it in bite-sized, chewable pieces by learning one topic at a time and coming back regularly for the rest of the topics. Your study method is all up to you. The important thing is to enjoy!
1. FRENCH VS. ENGLISH ADJECTIVES

While both French and English adjectives operate the same way, there are a few key differences between the two, and these are:

When to change the adjectives, and
Their placement in a sentence.
When we use adjectives in English, the only time we change its form is when we compare something. For example:

She is prettier than her sister. Pretty is changed to prettier to compare the subject to another person.

That’s the coolest idea ever! Cool becomes coolest to point out the awesomeness level.

In French, on the other hand, there are a few other considerations aside from comparison. You also have to make your adjectives “agree” with the noun it is describing based on gender and the quantity.

So your French adjectives could be changed into four forms:

masculine
feminine
singular
plural
Let’s use as an example the word joli (which means pretty).

GENDER
SINGULAR FORM
PLURAL FORM
Masculine joli jolis
Feminine jolie jolies
0Sounds like a lot of work, eh? Let’s just keep going and the knots in your brain will soon be cleared out (trust us!)

The second difference between French and English adjectives is its placement in a sentence. In English, we put the adjectives BEFORE the word they are describing. In French, however, it is usually placed AFTER the noun.

For example:

a black cat un chat noir

A quick recap of the first topic:

Adjectives are words which describe a subject and it answers the question: what kind of..?
The main difference between English and French adjectives are:
◦ The changes in form. English adjectives change only when used to compare while French adjectives have to “agree” with the word it is describing according to its gender and quantity.

◦ The placement in a sentence. French adjectives are usually placed AFTER the noun, while English adjectives come BEFORE it.



2. HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ADJECTIVES “AGREE”

Having to make words agree with each other could seem headache-inducing to newbies in French. But don’t worry, we’re here to make the task as easy for you as possible.

Here are the basic rules you should remember when it comes to making adjectives agree.

The main form of French adjectives (like how they appear in dictionary entries) is the masculine singular form.
In most cases, you only need to add a suffix or ending to change the adjective into its feminine form.
Basic rule:

GENDER
SINGULAR FORM
PLURAL FORM
Masculine No suffix; as is Add -s at the end of the word
Feminine Add -e at the end of the word Add -es at the end of the word
Let’s use the adjective noir (black) as an example.

GENDER
SINGULAR FORM
PLURAL FORM
Masculine un chat noir (a black cat) des chat noirs (black cats)
Feminine une chemise noire (a black shirt) des chemise noires (black shirts)
A closer look on how to make adjectives feminine:

Rule No. 1: Simply add -e to the masculine singular adjective. This applies to most adjectives.

noir noire (black)

vert verte (green)

amusant amusante (funny)



Rule No. 2: In cases where the adjective already ends in -e in its masculine singular form, you no longer need to add another -e at the end.

Examples:

un sac jaune (a yellow bag) becomes une chemise jaune (a yellow shirt)

un garçon sage (a good boy) becomes une fille sage (a good girl)



Rule No. 3: Some adjectives have a more complicated way of changing it to its feminine form. But these are still more or less a regular pattern, so all you need to do is familiarize yourself with the following table:

MASCULINE ENDING
FEMININE ENDING
EXAMPLE
NEW
-f -ve neuf/neuve happy
-x -se heureux/ heureuse dear, expensive
-er -ère cher/ chère farming, country
-an
-en
-on -anne
-enne
-onne paysan/paysanne
européen/ europèenne
bon/ bonne European
good, right
-el -elle cruel/cruelle cruel
eil -eille pareil/pareille similar
-et -ette
-ète net/nette
complet/ complète clear
complete
Table source: Collins Easy Learning French Grammar

Pronunciation tips!

For masculine adjectives ending in a vowel, the pronunciation does not change when -e is added. For example, joli and jolie are pronounced the same way.
For masculine adjectives ending in unpronounced consonants like D, S, or T, once it is changed to a feminine form, the unpronounced consonants becomes pronounced. Example, chaud (or hot), to pronounce the masculine form, the d is silent. In the feminine form chaude, the d is pronounced.
This also applies to adjectives where you double the consonant to change it to its feminine form. For example, in the word gros (big, fat), the s is silent while in its feminine counterpart grosse, the s sound is distinct.

Some masculine adjectives that end in nasal sounds become non-nasal in feminine form. For example, the word bon (good) ends in a nasal sound and the n is not pronounced. In its feminine form bonne, it no longer sounds nasal and the n is pronounced.
Too many rules? Don’t worry, you’ll catch up real quick if you keep coming back and reading this page thoroughly!

Just like in any other languages, there are words which simply refuse to fit the bill. Here is a list of some of the irregular adjectives in the French language:

(masculine) (feminine) (what it means)

blanc blanche white, blank

doux douce soft, mild, sweet, gentle

faux fausse untrue

favori favorite favorite

frais fraiche fresh, chilly, cool

gentil gentille nice, kind

grec grecque Greek

gros grosse big, fat

long longue long

nul nulle useless

roux rousse red, red-haired

sec sèche dry, dried

turc turque Turkish

Some irregular adjectives are even more irregular than the others. Here is a list of highly irregular adjectives which have an extra set of masculine singular forms. These ‘extra’ masculine adjectives are reserved only to be used when describing words that begin with a vowel or those that begin with an ‘h’. Needless to say, the feminine forms are irregular as well.

(MASCULINE)
('EXTRA' MASCULINE FORM)
(FEMININE)
(WHAT IT MEANS)
beau bel belle lovely, good-looking, beautiful
fou fol folle mad
nouveau nouvel nouvelle new
vieux vieil vieille old
Examples when used:

un bel appartement (a beautiful apartment)

le Nouvel An (New Year)

un vieil arbre (an old tree)

Irregular adjectives words list and examples source: Collins Easy Learning French Grammar

Now that we have finished with the basic rules on how to make adjectives agree, as well as how to change it to its feminine form, let’s look at how to make the adjective plural.

As mentioned earlier, French adjectives change in two ways – the gender, and the quantity. If you found the previous topic a bit difficult to grasp (you’ll get the hang of it, don’t worry!), this one is a lot easier.

Here are the basic rules on how to change a singular French adjective into its plural form.

Simply adding -s to the masculine or feminine adjective will make it plural. This is applicable in most cases. (noir becomes noirs; lourde becomes lourdes)
For adjectives that end in -s or -x, you no longer need to add another s. (français is still français in plural; dangereux is still dangereux)
For masculine adjectives that end in -eau or -al, the plural form usually changes it to -eaux or -aux.

Quick tip: In cases where the adjective is describing both masculine and feminine objects, use the masculine plural form (instead of the feminine).
Pronunciation guide: When you add -s or -x in an adjective, the pronunciation remains the same! But when it comes before a word that starts with a vowel or h, the s or x is pronounced.

And finally, let’s move on to the best kind of adjectives there is — the ones that NEVER change no matter what form it is used. Now if only all adjectives are like these, it would be a lot less headache to worry about, right?

Sadly, there’s quite a few of them. These adjectives are usually about colors such as bleu marine (navy blue), orange (orange), and marron (brown).

A quick recap of the second topic:

The basic rule in changing a masculine adjective into its feminine form is simply to add an -e in its ending. If t already ends in -e, you usually do not need to add another one.
A lot of adjectives that end in a consonant can be changed to feminine by doubling the consonant and adding an -e towards the end.
Some irregular masculine adjectives have another set of masculine forms which is used when describing words that begin with a vowel or h.
To change an adjective into its plural form, the basic rule is to add an -s. But if it already ends in -s or -x, no additional suffix is needed.
For adjectives that end in -eau or -al, the plural form is -eaux or -aux.
A few adjectives never changes their form no matter what kind of noun they are describing.
3. WHERE TO PLACE FRENCH ADJECTIVES IN A SENTENCE

As mentioned in the previous topics, one of the key differences between French and English adjectives is its placement in a sentence. While English adjectives tend to come BEFORE the noun it is describing, the French adjectifs usually come AFTER the word it describes. We use the word usually because that is not always the case. Some words simply refuse to fit the norm and make their own rules instead.

Here we’ll discuss the rules on where and how to put the adjectives in a sentence.

The most important rules for you to take note of are the following:

Most of the time, the adjectives appear immediately AFTER the noun they are describing. This is true to regular adjectives as well as those related to colors, shapes ans nationalities.
There are, however, some adjectives that appear BEFORE a noun. Some common examples are listed below:
BEAU
LOVELY, GOOD-LOOKING , BEAUTIFUL
bon good, right
court short
grand tall, big, great
gros big. fat
haut high
jeune young
joli pretty
long long
mauvals bad, poor
melleur better
nouveau new
petit small, little
premier first
vieux old
Examples source: Collins Easy Learning French Grammar

3. Aside from the adjectives that appear after or before the word they are describing, there is also a special group of adjectives that could appear either BEFORE or AFTER a noun, and its meaning changes depending on their placement in the sentence.

Sounds tricky?

Here are some of the most common examples:

ADJECTIVE
EXAMPLE (BEFORE NOUN)
MEANING
EXAMPLE (AFTER NOUN)
MEANING
ancien une ancienne épouse a former wife une épouse ancienne an old wife
cher mon cher ami my dear friend un tailleur cher an expensive suit
propre ma propre chambre my own bedroom un mouchoir propre a clean handkerchief

4. Lastly, there is also a small group of adjectives which can be placed before or after a noun and its meanings do not change.

These rule-breakers are the following:

bas = low bref = brief charmant = charming court = short

double = double ´enorme = enormous excellent = excellent fort = strong

futur = future innombrable = innumerable long = long magnifique = magnificent

modeste = modest principal =main rapide = fast terrible = terrible



Example usage:

Un magnifique terrain de foot = Un terrain de foot magnifique

Examples source: Student Guide to French Grammar


Extra tip: All these rules could be a bit confusing, but if you keep familiarizing yourself with the different words and adjectives usage through continuous exposure to the French language, it could only go easier for you. Remember, constant practice and a lot of patience is the key. You’re doing awesome though; keep it up!

In English, using multiple adjectives to describe one subject is quite simple: you just pile them up in a neat line based on an agreed order.

Examples: The pretty little girl. The big yellow taxi.

But since French has a lot more rules when it comes to the order of adjectives, the question is, how do you arrange multiple adjectives in a sentence?

Here are some tips:

1. If one of the adjectives you’re using normally goes before a noun while the other one comes after the noun, then you can proceed with doing just that.

For example: jeune and nouveau are adjectives that come before a noun while blonde and intéressant comes after. When you use it in a sentence:une jeune femme blonde (a young blonde woman)un nouveau film intéressant (an interesting new film)



2. If both of the adjectives you are using come after the noun, you can add et (which means and) between the two adjectives. un homme mince et laid (a thin, ugly man)une persone intelligente et drôle (an intelligent, funny person) Sounds simple enough, right?



A quick recap of the third topic:

There are four kinds of adjectives in French based on where they appear in a sentence:


Adjectives that come AFTER the subject they are describing – this is the most common case.
A small group of adjectives that come BEFORE the subject.
Another small group of adjectives could come BEFORE or AFTER the noun, but the meaning changes depending on where it is placed; and
The last group – adjectives that could be placed either BEFORE or AFTER and their meanings won’t change.
Mulitple adjectives can be connected using et which means and in English.
4. QUICK EXERCISES ON ADJECTIVES

Before we end our discussion on adjectives, let us practice saying a few French adjectives first. The meanings are also included, and this list should help widen your French vocabulary. Ready?
ADJECTIVE
MEANING
PRONUNCIATION
riche rich reesh
pauvre poor pohvr
facile easy fah-seel
difficile difficult dee-fee-seel
intéressant interesting ang-tay-ress-ahng
ennuyeux boring ahng-nwee-yer
intelligent intelligent ang-tel-ee-zhahng
stupide stupid stü-peed
poli polite po-lee
impoli impolite ang-po-lee
heureux happy er-rer
malheureux unhappy mahl-er-rer
bon, bonne (f.) good bong; bonn
mauvais bad moh-vay
attentif, attentive (f.) attentive ah-tahng-teef; ah-tahng-teev
premier, premiere (f.) first prerm-yay; prerm-yairr
secret, secrète (f.) secret serkray; serkret
Note:
the ones marked with (f.) refer to the feminine form of the adjective.
The italicized letters in the pronunciation guide are meant to be pronounced with a nasal sound.
5. NUMERICAL ADJECTIVES

The last part of this discussion on adjectives is the adjectifs numéraux, or in English, the numerical adjectives. These so-called adjectives are technically not adjectives at all, and are in fact, just a regular use of the functions of numbers and mathematics. But because they act like adjectives themselves in the way they describe or tell details about the nouns, they are often included in French lessons as belonging to adjectives.

If you are already familiar with French numbers, this part should be a breeze to you. If not, you may want to brush up on your numbers by heading over to the article The Easy Guide to French Numbers. There are three kinds of numerical adjectives, and these are:

Cardinal numbers which are being used for counting, such as un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, and so on (one, two, three, four, five, etc.)
Ordinal numbers which are used to rank or tell the position and order. Examples: premier, deuxième, troisième, qatrième, cinquième, and so on (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.)
Multiplicative numbers which are being used to multiply an amount. Examples of multiplicative numbers: simple, double, triple (single, double triple)
With all that classification out of the way, the question now is this: Where do you put a numerical adjective in a sentence?In the previous lesson, we have discussed that adjectives usually appear AFTER the noun it is describing. But in some cases, they could also appear BEFORE, BEFORE or AFTER depending on the meaning, and BEFORE or AFTER with no changes in the meaning. For numerical adjectives, the rule is: it comes BEFORE the noun that it modifies.

Cardinal numbers come before the noun and the other adjectives. Example: un chat noir (a black cat), deux sacs (two bags).
Ordinal numbers and multiplicatives also come before the noun. Example: troisième jour (third day), triple mot (triple word)
The next question that begs to be answered is: Like other adjectives, do numerical adjectives need to “agree” to the noun it describes? Fortunately for French-learners like you, this is one area where there are no difficult agreement rules to think about. The rule is very simple:

All cardinal numbers except for “one” are invariable. Meaning, they do not need to agree to the gender of the noun. As for “one”, the masculine un becomes une in its feminine form.
All ordinal numbers except for “first” are invariable. The masculine premier becomes première.
As for multiplicative numbers, they are all invariable and can readily be used for both masculine and feminine.
As previously mentioned, numerical adjectives are quite easy to understand if you already have a grasp of French numbers. It doesn’t have as many rules as the other regular adjectives too.With that, we conclude this lesson on French adjectives. Remember, the key to grasping these lessons is repetition Do not forget to keep coming back to this page and reviewing what you have learned until you have thoroughly familiarized the topics as well as the different rules. Cheers!

Note: you may check the original article at >> http://www.talkinfrench.com/french-adjectives/ it has much better format for the Table