Gender Agreement
Adjectives agree in gender with the noun they modify.
Most adjectives form the feminine from the masculine by adding -e, including adjectives ending with é:
| masculine | feminine | |
| petit | petite | (small) |
| joli | jolie | (pretty) |
| français | française | (French) |
| noir | noire | (black) |
| élégant | élégante | (elegant) |
| âgé | âgée | (old) |
Note: adjectives ending in -e have the same masculine and feminine forms:
| aimable | aimable | (amiable) |
| difficile | difficile | (difficult) |
Adjectives ending in -x form the feminine by changing -x to -se:
| curieux | curieuse | (curious) |
| heureux | heureuse | (happy) |
Adjectives ending in -f form the feminine by changing -f to -ve:
| actif | active | (lively/active) |
| expressif | expressive | (expressive) |
| fautif | fautive | (wrong/at fault) |
Adjectives ending in -er form the feminine by changing -er to -ère.
| dernier | dernière | (last) |
| étranger | étrangère | (foreign) |
| léger | légère | (light) |
Some adjectives form the feminine by doubling the final consonant before adding -e:
| pareil | pareille | (same, similar) |
| ancien | ancienne | (old/ancient) |
| bas | basse | (low) |
| bon | bonne | (good/kind) |
| cruel | cruelle | (cruel) |
| gentil | gentille | (nice, kind) |
| sot | sotte | (silly, foolish) |
Most adjectives ending with -eur or -teur form their feminine in -euse or -teuse:
un
avenir prometteur (a promising future)
une aventure prometteuse (a promising adventure)
However, a few unusual adjectives change -teur into -trice:
un agent
corrupteur (a corrupting agent)
une influence corruptrice (a corrupting
influence)
Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms:
| blanc | blanche | (white) |
| complet | complète | (complete) |
| doux | douce | (soft) |
| faux | fausse | (false) |
| favori | favorite | (favorite) |
| frais | fraîche | (cool/fresh) |
| franc | franche | (frank) |
| inquiet | inquiète | (worried/uneasy) |
| long | longue | (long) |
| public | publique | (public) |
| roux | rousse | (reddish) |
| sec | sèche | (dry) |
| secret | secrète | (secret) |
| *beau (bel) | belle | (beautiful) |
| *fou (fol) | folle | (mad, crazy) |
| *mou (mol) | molle | (soft) |
| *vieux (vieil) | vieille | (old) |
| *nouveau (nouvel) | nouvelle | (new) |
*These five masculine adjectives have an alternative form before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel or a "mute" h. Their feminine singular is formed by doubling the last consonant before adding the usual -e.
See Also: