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Stylish, brunette, premiere, naive. There are a variety of French phrases—together with French adjectives—which are simply recognizable and infrequently utilized in English. When you begin studying French, you’ll wish to begin studying and utilizing adjectives to make your conversations extra descriptive. However it may be complicated to know when to make use of beau as an alternative of belle or petit as an alternative of petite, or the place to put adjectives in a sentence.
Being conversant in a number of fundamental guidelines will make it easier to ensure you’re utilizing these adjectives accurately each time. Under, we’ve got an inventory of over 100 adjectives to get you began. And don’t miss the French grammar guidelines for adjectives on the finish to essentially grasp utilizing descriptive language in French.
Methods to use French adjectives accurately
Earlier than you dive into our French adjectives listing you’ll want to grasp the best way to use them accurately in a sentence. The location of adjectives in a sentence is essential to study alongside because it’s a vital a part of speech in French. Adjectives also can change their endings relying on the gender and quantity.
Adjectives usually go after the noun
Most adjectives go after the noun they modify:
- un homme gentil = a good man
- une fleur rose = a pink flower
Nevertheless, a number of adjectives go earlier than the noun. These are the adjectives that describe an individual or object’s magnificence, age, goodness, and measurement.
- une jolie femme = a fairly girl
- un vieux bâtiment = an previous constructing
- un bon livre = a good e-book
- un grand homme = a tall man
You should use any adjective with the verb être (is) to hyperlink with the noun. In that case, the phrase order is all the time noun + être + adjective, whatever the adjective kind.
- La fleur est rose. = The flower is pink.
- L’homme est beau. = The person is good-looking.
Adjective endings change to match noun gender and quantity
In English, nouns present singular or plural based mostly on their ending. That is pretty easy and achieved by inserting an -s, -es or -ies to the tip of a phrase.
- one e-book / two e-books
- one strawberry / two strawberries
French additionally signifies if a noun is singular or plural by altering the ending, with a little bit extra complexity. Along with quantity, nouns in French even have a grammatical gender. French nouns could be both masculine or female and it’s an arbitrary task that’s finest realized by means of repeated apply and publicity to vocabulary.
Phrases that modify nouns, like French articles and adjectives, have to agree in gender and in quantity. You have to to be cognizant of each since French adjective endings will usually change to replicate that settlement.
The masculine singular kind is taken into account the bottom type of an adjective. Should you’re speaking a few masculine singular noun, you don’t have to make any modifications to the adjective ending.
- a livre vert = a inexperienced e-book
- un homme américain = an American man
If the noun is female and singular, you may often make the adjective agree by including an -e to the tip.
- une pomme verte = a inexperienced apple
- une femme polie = a well mannered girl
If the noun is plural, an adjective could be made plural by including an -s to the tip.
- les livres verts = the inexperienced books
- les hommes américains = the American males
- les pommes vertes = the inexperienced apples
- les femmes polies = the well mannered girls
Frequent exceptions to utilizing adjectives in French accurately
The French language all the time has a number of exceptions, and there are fairly few adjectives which have irregular spelling modifications relying on the gender and variety of the noun.
Irregular female types
We defined above that sure nouns can be female in gender, and sometimes, adjectives modifying these nouns will simply want an -e connected to the tip. If you come throughout an irregular female noun, you’ll discover that sure closing consonants can be doubled earlier than including the -e. Have a look a the next examples:
n → nne
- un homme canadien = a Canadian man
- une femme canadienne = a Canadian girl
l → lle
- un homme gentil = a good man
- une femme gentille = a good girl
s → sse
- un gros coq = a fats rooster
- une grosse poule = a fats hen
Moreover, some endings will change barely within the female kind
x→se
- un homme heureux = a glad man
- une femme heureuse = a glad girl
f → ve
- un homme naïf = a naive man
- une femme naïve = a naive girl
Plural noun settlement
Fortunately, there are not any irregular endings to study to make plural adjective types. Nevertheless, if a singular adjective ends in x or s, don’t add an extra s to the ending to point out plural, simply depart it as is.
- un homme heureux = a contented man
- les hommes heureux = the glad males
- un gros chat = a fats cat
- les gros chats = the fats cats
Irregular French adjectives: beau, nouveau, and vieux
There are a number of adjectives which have considerably totally different types relying on the gender and quantity. There are three irregular adjectives which are used most continuously: beau, nouveau, and vieux. Since these are generally used phrases, we’ve included this part that can assist you achieve success.
Beau = good-looking / stunning
| Masculine | Female | |
| Singular | beau | belle |
| Plural | beaux | belles |
Listed below are a number of examples:
- un beau garçon = a good-looking boy
- deux beaux garçons = two good-looking boys
- une belle fille = a stunning lady
- deux belles filles = two stunning women
And, there’s even yet one more irregular kind for this adjective! Primarily based on the desk above, it might sound logical to say:
- un beau homme = a good-looking man
However that is incorrect.
Typically, the French language avoids having two vowel sounds subsequent to one another. The “o” sound in beau and the “o” sound in homme are doing simply that. To keep away from this awkwardness, French has an extra kind for an adjective positioned earlier than a noun that begins with a vowel sound that’s each masculine and singular.
In these situations, you’ll take the female singular kind (belle) and drop the final two letters (le) to get the right model of the adjective.
- un bel homme = a good-looking man
Nouveau = new
| Masculine | Female | |
| Singular | nouveaunouvel (earlier than a vowel) | nouvelle |
| Plural | nouveaux | nouvelles |
- un nouveau livre = a new e-book
- un nouvel appartement = a new house
- les nouveaux livres = the new books
- une nouvelle maison = a new home
- les nouvelles maisons = the new homes
Vieux = previous
| Masculine | Female | |
| Singular | vieuxvieil (earlier than a vowel) | vieille |
| Plural | vieux | vieilles |
- un vieux livre = an previous e-book
- un vieil appartement = an previous house
- les vieux livres = the previous books
- une vieille maison = an previous home
- les vieilles maisons = the previous homes
Invariable adjectives in French
Lastly, there are invariable adjectives. These are phrases that maintain the identical kind irrespective of the quantity or gender of the noun they modify. You’ll wish to verify {that a} modifier is certainly an invariable adjective within the context you propose to make use of it earlier than skipping settlement, however you should utilize the next clues to make an informed guess.
Shortened types of longer adjectives are sometimes invariable. Check out how sympa (the shortened type of sympathique) is used under:
- les hommes sympa = the good males
Many mortgage phrases (phrases borrowed from a unique language) don’t tackle endings both. For instance, “cool” doesn’t want an -e or -s on the finish of it to agree with “women.”
- les filles cool = the cool women
Many colour phrases derived from nouns (marron, orange, and turquoise, for instance) are additionally invariable adjectives.
- les livres marron = the brown books
A complete listing of French adjectives you’ll have to know
French has hundreds of adjectives, however this listing is the right place for newbie learners to begin. Right here, you’ll discover generally used adjectives, together with their English translations for quite a lot of matters, from describing individuals to figuring out colours.
French adjectives to explain an individual’s bodily attributes
Figuring out the best way to describe an individual is useful when telling a narrative or speaking a few new crush. The phrases under are useful adjectives in French once you wish to describe how an individual appears to be like.
| French | English |
| âgé | previous |
| beau | good-looking, stunning (man) |
| belle | Stunning, fairly (girl) |
| blond | blond |
| bouclé | curly |
| brun | brunette |
| châtain | gentle brown |
| chauve | bald |
| courtroom | brief |
| faible | weak |
| fort | sturdy |
| frisé | wavy |
| grand | large |
| gros | fats |
| jeune | younger |
| joli | fairly |
| laid | ugly |
| lengthy | lengthy |
| mauvais | dangerous |
| meilleur | higher |
| mignon | cute |
| mince | skinny |
| noisette | hazel |
| petit | little, small |
| raide | straight |
| roux | red-haired |
| vieux | previous |
Adjectives in French to explain a character or circumstance
Past bodily traits, it’s useful to know some French adjectives to explain a character or what an individual is doing. They could be humorous, busy, or honest!
| French | English |
| agréable | nice |
| amusant | humorous, amusing |
| bon | good |
| charmant | charming |
| egoïste | self-centered |
| elégant | elegant |
| heureux | glad |
| impatient | impatient |
| impoli | impolite |
| indépendant | unbiased |
| inquiet | frightened |
| clever | clever, good |
| mal | evil |
| marié | married |
| moche | ugly |
| nouveau | new |
| occupé | busy |
| optimiste | optimistic |
| affected person | affected person |
| pessimiste | pessimistic |
| poli | well mannered |
| réservé | reserved |
| sincère | honest |
| sociable | sociable |
| sympathique | good |
| sympa | good (shortened, extra frequent type of sympathique) |
| timide | shy |
| veuf | widowed |
French adjectives to explain objects and locations
This listing of French adjectives goes even deeper. It’s all about the best way to describe objects and locations so you may inform an individual the place to search out one thing or what it appears to be like like. It’s additionally useful to explain conditions which may be snug or disagreeable.
| French | English |
| bas | low |
| brillant | shiny |
| chaud | scorching |
| cher | costly |
| clair | gentle (in colour) |
| confortable | snug |
| cool | cool, superior |
| désagréable | disagreeable |
| différent | totally different |
| difficile | tough |
| facile | simple |
| fake | false |
| foncé | darkish (in colour) |
| froid | chilly |
| haut | excessive |
| essential | essential |
| intéressant | attention-grabbing |
| léger | gentle |
| lourd | heavy |
| pauvre | poor |
| premier | first |
| propre | clear |
| riche | wealthy |
| sale | soiled |
| similaire | related |
| tout | all |
| vrai | true |
Utilizing colours as adjectives in French
The colours of the rainbow are value describing! Traditional rouge and beautiful rose paired with noir are traditional French colours that may describe a few of your favourite stuff you see on a visit to Paris. And possibly marron for that completely baked ache au chocolat (chocolate croissant).
| French | English |
| blanc | white |
| bleu | blue |
| gris | grey |
| jaune | yellow |
| marron | brown |
| noir | black |
| orange | orange |
| rose | pink |
| rouge | crimson |
| vert | inexperienced |
| violet | purple |
Nationalities in French
Paris is a melting pot of individuals from world wide. It’s useful to know the best way to say totally different nationalities when describing an individual’s heritage. In contrast to English, the adjective types of nationalities in French aren’t capitalized.
- He’s American = Il est américain.
- They’re French = Ils sont français.
| French | English |
| algérien | Algerian |
| allemand | German |
| américain | American |
| anglais | English |
| australien | Australian |
| belge | Belgian |
| canadien | Canadian |
| chinois | Chinese language |
| espagnol | Spanish |
| français | French |
| haïtien | Haitian |
| japonais | Japanese |
| marocain | Moroccan |
| mexicain | Mexican |
| portugais | Portuguese |
| suisse | Swiss |
| russe | Russian |
| tunisien | Tunisian |
| vietnamien | Vietnamese |
Shortly grasp French adjectives with Rosetta Stone
Adjective settlement in French is crucial to utilizing adjectives accurately. With so many exceptions to these guidelines, studying adjectives might really feel a little bit overwhelming. Happily, you will get a lot of apply with Stay Classes with a native-speaking Rosetta Stone tutor. It’s one of the best ways to study a language naturally and rapidly.
Written by Denise Brown