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French grammar Part of Chapter 4

CEFR A1-A2

5 min read

Test yourself (30 questions)

French Adjective Agreement: Rules, Chart and bel, nouvel

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

A French adjective copies its noun: masculine or feminine, singular or plural. So most adjectives have four forms, and the ending tells you which noun they belong to.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

beau, bel or belle? Choose the form that fits.

  1. un homme

  2. un jardin

  3. une maison

  • - a small cat
  • - a small house

The whole system on one screen

feminine endingplural endingsilent letterWhat do the colours mean?
Masc. sg.Fem. sg.Masc. pl.Fem. pl.

Build the feminine from the masculine, then add -s for the plural of either. The whole noun phrase agrees:

  • - a black cat
  • - black cats
  • - a black dress
  • - black dresses

The feminine endings

The default is to add -e. An adjective that already ends in -e stays the same: , (an easy book, an easy language). Below the default row, six endings change in a regular way:

PatternMasculineFeminine
+ e
-x to -
-el to -
- to -enne
-on to -onne
-f to -ve
-er to -
  • . / . - He is happy. / She is happy.
  • / - a good book / a good idea

A few are irregular and learnt one by one:

MasculineFeminineEnglish
white
long
big, fat
fresh
kind
beautiful
old

The -e is not just spelling. It brings a silent last consonant back to life: ends on a vowel sound, sounds the t; and do the same with d.

A nationality adjective takes no capital letter: (a French friend). Only the noun for a person does: (a Frenchman).

The plural

feminine endingplural endingsilent letterWhat do the colours mean?
RuleMasc. pl.Fem. pl.
+ s
-s, -x: no change,
-al to -
- to -
  • - happy friends
  • - national newspapers
  • - beautiful gardens

A few -al adjectives just add -s instead (, ; , ).

The plural -s is silent, so and sound the same. You hear it only in before a vowel: is " peti-z-".

Colours

feminine endingplural endingWhat do the colours mean?

A French adjective agrees with its noun: it changes its ending to match the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) and number (one or more). Colours are adjectives, so they agree too, and they go after the noun: , a red car.

Four panels: a white house with a lilac roof and a blue door; a white dog with grey ears and a blue collar; a black cat with yellow eyes; a red car.

Every colour comes after its noun. The feminine maison takes blanche, the masculine chien blanc.

ColourMasc.Fem.Fem. pl.
black
green
grey
blue
white
purple
red
yellow
pink
orange
brown

Most colours add -e and -s: , , . and are the irregular ones: (a white dress).

, and already end in -e, so the feminine looks the same; they still add -s in the plural: (pink dresses).

and never change, because they began as nouns (an orange, a chestnut): , . began as a noun too, but it agrees like an ordinary adjective: . A colour with a second word never changes either: (a light blue dress).

Position: after the noun, BAGS before it

Most adjectives go after the noun. A short list of common ones goes before it, remembered as BAGS:

femininepluralthe word to noticeWhat do the colours mean?
GroupAdjectivesExample
Beauty,
Age, ,
Goodness,
Size, , ,
Article
BAGS
Noun
After
empty
  • - a beautiful red car
  • - a small black cat
  • - an interesting book
The same smiling golden dog drawn three times side by side on the grass: a tiny one, a normal-sized one and a huge one that fills half the picture.

Size adjectives go before the noun: un petit chien, un grand chien.

In careful written French, becomes before a plural adjective placed ahead of the noun: (good friends). A few adjectives change meaning with position ( is a former pupil); they are on the adjective position page.

beau, bel, belle: the five-form adjectives

, and have a third masculine singular form, used only straight before a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h. would jam two vowels together, so French says , the l running into the noun.

un bel homme - a handsome man
Masc. sg.Before a vowelFem. sg.Masc. pl.

The feminine plurals are , , .

Before a consonantBefore a vowel

, and sound exactly like the feminine , and ; only the spelling differs. The same trick turns into before a vowel: (this man), on the demonstratives page.

When the special form does NOT apply

All three conditions must hold: masculine, singular, and directly before a vowel sound. Everywhere else, the ordinary form:

CaseExampleEnglish
after .That man is handsome.
noun an old (female) friend
plural noun new friends
a word in between a fine big flat
aspirated h a handsome hero

Which form? Worked through

PhraseFormWhy
___ masc. sg., vowel next
___ masc. sg., consonant next
Ma ___, after
___ plural never takes
___ : vowel rule irrelevant
___after , the plain form

Mixed groups

A group with one masculine noun takes the masculine plural, however many feminine nouns are in it:

  • Paul Marie . - Paul and Marie are happy.
  • - a white dress and white trousers

Common mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
plural agrees
colours go after the noun
BAGS goes before the noun
vowel next:
nouvels , are singular
never changes

The subtle one: a woman says . (My father is tall), not . The adjective agrees with the father, not the speaker.

What to do next

  1. Describe three things you own: , .
  2. Say each one again in the plural.
  3. Do the drill below, then the comparatives page.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/6

Build the adjective that agrees with the noun.

  1. une maison (petit)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. des chats (noir)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. des robes (vert)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. une fille (heureux)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. une amie (italien)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  6. la fois (premier)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/8

Before or after the noun: where does each adjective go?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/6

beau, bel or belle? Choose the form that fits.

  1. un homme

  2. un jardin

  3. une maison

  4. un ami (vieux)

  5. un ordinateur (nouveau)

  6. Cet homme est .

Spot the mistake

0/5

Tap the mistake English speakers make.

Translation drill

0/5

Translate into French, agreeing each adjective with its noun.

  1. a white dress

  2. the small black cat

  3. my French friends (men)

  4. a big white house

  5. an old friend (masculine)

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Frequently asked questions

How do you make a French adjective feminine?
The default is to add -e: becomes , grand becomes . An adjective that already ends in -e does not change (, , ). Then come regular patterns: -x to -se (, ), -el to -elle (, ), -en to -enne (, ), -on to -onne (, ), -f to -ve (, active) and -er to -ère (, ). A few are irregular and learnt one by one: , ; , ; , ; long, .
Where does a French adjective go: before or after the noun?
After the noun is the default: , . A short list of common adjectives goes before it, remembered as BAGS: Beauty (, ), Age (, , ), Goodness (, ) and Size (grand, , , long). So , . A few change meaning with position ( is a former pupil).
When do you use , and in French?
Only directly in front of a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h: , , . Before a consonant the ordinary form stays ( ), and after the noun or after it is always , , ( ). The plural never uses them: .
Is it or ?
. is masculine singular and begins with a vowel, so becomes , and the l runs straight into the noun. It sounds exactly like the feminine . In the plural it goes back to : .
Do French adjectives agree with a mixed group of masculine and feminine nouns?
Yes, and the masculine plural wins, however many feminine nouns are in the group. Paul Marie ; . One masculine noun is enough to make the adjective masculine plural.