French Adjectives: Masculine, Feminine, and Plural Agreement

Getting Started — Why Does the Adjective Change?

In English, an adjective never changes — “a tall man”, “a tall woman”, “tall men” — always “tall”. French works differently: the adjective agrees with the gender and number of the noun it describes. This is called agreement.

Golden rule: Learn both forms with every new adjective — not just “grand”, but “grand / grande”. Most adjectives belong to one of the pattern families below, so learning the patterns gets you dozens of words at once.

Note: The difference always shows up in writing, but it isn’t always audible — grand and grande sound almost identical in TEF speaking, but getting this wrong in the writing section (expression écrite) costs marks.

1. Regular Pattern — Masculine + -e, Plural + -s

The most common pattern: add -e for the feminine, add -s for the plural.

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
grand	grande	grands	grandes	tall / big
petit	petite	petits	petites	small
content	contente	contents	contentes	happy / pleased
intéressant	intéressante	intéressants	intéressantes	interesting

• Un grand appartement. — A big apartment.
• Une grande maison. — A big house.
• Des grands enfants. — Big/tall children.
• Des grandes familles. — Big families.

Note: Words ending in -t/-d/-nt (petit, grand, content) have a silent final consonant in the masculine, but adding -e in the feminine makes it audible — grand (“grahn”) vs. grande (“grahnd”).

2. Already Ending in -e — No Change at All

If the masculine already ends in -e, the feminine stays exactly the same — only -s is added for the plural.

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
mince	mince	minces	minces	thin
facile	facile	faciles	faciles	easy
jeune	jeune	jeunes	jeunes	young
rouge	rouge	rouges	rouges	red

• Il est mince. Elle est mince. — He/She is thin. (same word)

Note: These are easy to learn because there’s only one form to memorize — no separate feminine version.

3. Nationality Pattern — -ien → -ienne

Most nationality adjectives end in -ien; the feminine doubles the n and adds -e: -ienne.

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
indien	indienne	indiens	indiennes	Indian
canadien	canadienne	canadiens	canadiennes	Canadian
italien	italienne	italiens	italiennes	Italian
ancien	ancienne	anciens	anciennes	old / former
quotidien	quotidienne	quotidiens	quotidiennes	daily

• Il est canadien. Elle est canadienne. — He is Canadian. She is Canadian.
• une histoire ancienne — an old/ancient story; un ancien collègue — a former colleague (before the noun the meaning shifts to “former”; after the noun it means “old/ancient”)

Note: Nationality sentences drop the article (Il est indien, not “il est un indien”) — see French Articles for this rule.

4. -er / -ier → -ère / -ière

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
premier	première	premiers	premières	first
dernier	dernière	derniers	dernières	last
léger	légère	légers	légères	light (weight)
cher	chère	chers	chères	expensive / dear

• C’est mon premier jour. — It’s my first day.
• C’est ma première semaine. — It’s my first week.
• Ce restaurant est cher. Cette robe est chère. — This restaurant is expensive. This dress is expensive.

Note: premier and dernier always come before the noun (see Section 13 below).

5. -é → -ée (Participle-Style Adjectives)

Several adjectives look like past participles but behave like regular adjectives — masculine -é, feminine -ée.

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
fatigué	fatiguée	fatigués	fatiguées	tired
occupé	occupée	occupés	occupées	busy
marié	mariée	mariés	mariées	married
cultivé	cultivée	cultivés	cultivées	cultured / educated

• Je suis fatigué aujourd’hui. — I am tired today. (male speaker)
• Elle est fatiguée. — She is tired.

6. -if → -ive

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
actif	active	actifs	actives	active
sportif	sportive	sportifs	sportives	sporty / athletic
possessif	possessive	possessifs	possessives	possessive

• Il est actif. Elle est active. — He is active. She is active.

7. -eux → -euse

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
curieux	curieuse	curieux	curieuses	curious
heureux	heureuse	heureux	heureuses	happy
sérieux	sérieuse	sérieux	sérieuses	serious

Note: The masculine already ends in -x, so the masculine plural stays the same — curieux is written identically in the singular and the plural (see the full plural rule in Section 12).

8. Doubled-Consonant Family — -on/-onne, -il/-ille, -s/-sse, -et/-ette

This family doubles the final consonant before adding -e, which is what makes that consonant audible in the feminine.

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
bon	bonne	bons	bonnes	good
gentil	gentille	gentils	gentilles	kind / gentle
gros	grosse	gros	grosses	fat / big
mignon	mignonne	mignons	mignonnes	cute
violet	violette	violets	violettes	purple

• C’est un bon restaurant. — It’s a good restaurant.
• C’est une bonne idée. — It’s a good idea.

Note: gros already ends in -s, so the masculine plural doesn’t change (gros singular = plural), but the consonant still doubles in the feminine (grosse).

9. Colours — One Complete Table (Three Sub-Patterns)

Colour adjectives split across three different patterns, which is why they get their own section:

(a) Regular — masculine + -e, plural + -s:

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
bleu	bleue	bleus	bleues	blue
vert	verte	verts	vertes	green
gris	grise	gris	grises	grey
brun	brune	bruns	brunes	dark brown
noir	noire	noirs	noires	black
violet	violette	violets	violettes	purple

Note: gris already ends in -s, so the masculine plural doesn’t change (Section 12’s plural rule). blanc (white) is in Section 11 because it’s irregular (blanche, not a doubled consonant).

(b) Already ending in -e — no change in the feminine, but takes -s in the plural:

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
rouge	rouge	rouges	rouges	red
jaune	jaune	jaunes	jaunes	yellow
rose	rose	roses	roses	pink

(c) Colours derived from nouns — never change, not even a plural -s:

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
orange	orange	orange	orange	orange
marron	marron	marron	marron	maroon / brown
safran	safran	safran	safran	saffron

These colours are actually nouns (fruit/spice names) used as adjectives, so they don’t follow the normal adjective rules:

• une chemise orange — an orange shirt (not une chemise orange)
• des chaussures marron — brown shoes (not des chaussures marrons — no plural -s either)

Note: This is a common mistake in TEF/TCF writing — learners often change these like group (b) (rouge, jaune, rose). Remember marron, orange, and safran: always the same form, in every case. (lavande — lavender — usually takes a regular plural: des rideaux lavandes, though some writers treat it as invariable too — you’ll hear both.)

10. Fully Irregular — beau, nouveau, vieux

These three are among the most common adjectives — and the most irregular. Each has three masculine singular forms:

Form	beau (handsome)	nouveau (new)	vieux (old)
Masculine (before a consonant)	beau	nouveau	vieux
Masculine (before a vowel/silent h)	bel	nouvel	vieil
Feminine	belle	nouvelle	vieille
Masculine plural	beaux	nouveaux	vieux
Feminine plural	belles	nouvelles	vieilles

• un beau jardin — a beautiful garden (before a consonant)
• un bel homme — a handsome man (before a vowel — bel, for ease of pronunciation)
• une belle maison — a beautiful house
• un vieil ami — an old friend
• des vieux amis — old friends (the vowel rule doesn’t apply in the plural)

Note: bel/nouvel/vieil only appear in the masculine singular, and only when the following word starts with a vowel or silent h — exactly like le/la → l’ elision. This rule disappears in the plural.

11. Other Irregulars — long, fou, blanc

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
long	longue	longs	longues	long
fou	folle	fous	folles	mad / crazy
blanc	blanche	blancs	blanches	white

• une longue journée — a long day
• une idée folle — a crazy idea (fou → fol is used before a vowel in older style, but is rarer in modern French)

12. Plural Formation Rules (Quick Summary)

Ending	Rule	Example
Most words	+ s	petit → petits
Already -s or -x	No change	gros → gros, curieux → curieux
-eau	+ x	beau → beaux, nouveau → nouveaux
-al (most)	→ -aux	national → nationaux

Note: The -al → -aux rule has a few exceptions, but none of the 30+ adjectives in this lesson end in -al — it’s mentioned here for a complete picture.

13. Where Does the Adjective Go — Before or After?

Like English, most French adjectives come after the noun — but a small set of short, very common adjectives come before it. The English mnemonic BANGS helps: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size.

Category	Words that come first	Example
Beauty	beau, joli	une belle maison
Age	jeune, vieux, nouveau, ancien	un vieil ami
Number	premier, dernier, deux, plusieurs	mon premier jour
Goodness	bon, mauvais	un bon restaurant
Size	grand, petit, gros, long	un grand appartement

Note: “Number” covers both ordinals (premier, dernier) and cardinal numbers (un, deux, trois…) — numbers always precede the noun, in French and English alike, which is why this category is the easiest to remember.

All other descriptive adjectives — shape, colour, nationality, religion, and longer/multi-syllable adjectives (intelligent, sympathique, formidable) — come after the noun:

• un livre intéressant — an interesting book
• une femme canadienne — a Canadian woman
• une chemise rouge — a red shirt
• une personne formidable — an amazing person

14. Exceptional Scenarios

Every pattern so far covered a single adjective. But real sentences often bring two adjectives together, or a specific agreement trap. These cost the most marks in TEF/TCF expression écrite.

(a) One BANGS adjective + one other adjective — each keeps its own position:

If two adjectives describe one noun — one BANGS (before) and one regular (after) — each stays in its normal place, with the noun in between:

• L’appartement est situé au bord de la mer. (grand, magnifique) → Le grand appartement magnifique est situé au bord de la mer. — grand (size, BANGS) before, magnifique (a longer adjective) after.
• Je vais à la bibliothèque. (ancien, formidable) → Je vais à l’ancienne bibliothèque formidable. — ancien (age, BANGS) before, formidable after. (bibliothèque is feminine, so ancien → ancienne.)

Note: This is the most common mistake — learners forget to agree the second adjective because attention stays on the first (BANGS) one. Both adjectives agree with the noun’s gender independently, so check both.

(b) Two BANGS adjectives together, joined by “et” — both go before:

• C’est ma vieille et belle amie. — She is my old and beautiful friend. (both age + beauty, both before, joined by “et”)

(c) des → de when an adjective precedes a plural noun:

This is a different situation from the des→de rule in negation — the sentence here isn’t negative. When a BANGS adjective comes before a plural noun, des usually becomes de (in formal/written French):

• J’ai des notes. + bonnes (adjective first) → J’ai de bonnes notes. (not des bonnes notes)
• Ce sont de grands enfants. (not des grands enfants, even though both are heard in casual speech)

Note: If the adjective comes after the noun, des doesn’t change: J’ai des notes excellentes. This rule only applies when the adjective sits before a plural noun.

(d) Don’t guess a noun’s gender from its shape:

• les cheveux (hair) is a masculine plural noun, regardless of the gender of the person it belongs to. Colour adjectives describing it also take the masculine plural: Elle a des cheveux blonds et frisés. (not blondes — cheveux is masculine, and the gender of the person doesn’t matter here).
• la bibliothèque (library) is feminine despite ending in -que — it’s an exception to the “usually feminine endings” from Section 7, so learn each noun’s article individually rather than guessing from its shape.

15. Full Reference Table

Masculine (s)	Feminine (s)	Masculine (pl)	Feminine (pl)	English
grand	grande	grands	grandes	tall / big
petit	petite	petits	petites	small
mince	mince	minces	minces	thin
indien	indienne	indiens	indiennes	Indian
canadien	canadienne	canadiens	canadiennes	Canadian
ancien	ancienne	anciens	anciennes	old / former
quotidien	quotidienne	quotidiens	quotidiennes	daily
bon	bonne	bons	bonnes	good
premier	première	premiers	premières	first
dernier	dernière	derniers	dernières	last
léger	légère	légers	légères	light (weight)
cher	chère	chers	chères	expensive / dear
fatigué	fatiguée	fatigués	fatiguées	tired
cultivé	cultivée	cultivés	cultivées	cultured / educated
actif	active	actifs	actives	active
sportif	sportive	sportifs	sportives	sporty
possessif	possessive	possessifs	possessives	possessive
curieux	curieuse	curieux	curieuses	curious
heureux	heureuse	heureux	heureuses	happy
beau / bel	belle	beaux	belles	handsome / beautiful
nouveau / nouvel	nouvelle	nouveaux	nouvelles	new
vieux / vieil	vieille	vieux	vieilles	old
long	longue	longs	longues	long
fou / fol	folle	fous	folles	mad
gros	grosse	gros	grosses	fat
gentil	gentille	gentils	gentilles	gentle / kind
mignon	mignonne	mignons	mignonnes	cute
bleu	bleue	bleus	bleues	blue
vert	verte	verts	vertes	green
gris	grise	gris	grises	grey
brun	brune	bruns	brunes	dark brown
noir	noire	noirs	noires	black
blanc	blanche	blancs	blanches	white
violet	violette	violets	violettes	purple
rouge	rouge	rouges	rouges	red
jaune	jaune	jaunes	jaunes	yellow
rose	rose	roses	roses	pink
orange	orange	orange	orange	orange
marron	marron	marron	marron	maroon / brown

16. Self-Test (7 Questions)

1. Une ___ maison. (grand, feminine) → grande
2. Des amis ___. (canadien, masculine plural) → canadiens
3. Un ___ hôtel. (beau, before a vowel) → bel
4. Elle est ___. (sportif, feminine) → sportive
5. Une ___ journée. (long, feminine) → longue
6. Des chaussures ___. (marron, feminine plural) → marron (doesn’t change)
7. J’ai ___ amis. (des + bon, adjective first) → de bons amis (not des bons amis)

Got 4–5 right? You understand the agreement system — the rest is just practice.

Practise it

Try the Adjective Agreement game — type the feminine form of all 39 adjectives from this lesson, with the masculine and feminine plurals shown on every answer.

Next

Practice adjective agreement with French Articles, Être and Avoir, and Essential French Adjectives and Adverbs.