Describe objects with agreeing adjectives

By UK GCSE French · independent study · myAudience

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Describe objects with agreeing adjectives

An adjective gives information about a noun. In standard French it normally agrees with that noun in gender and number. For many adjectives, add e for feminine and s for plural. Bleu becomes bleue with a feminine singular noun, bleus with a masculine plural noun and bleues with a feminine plural noun. This is a useful pattern, not a rule without exceptions.

An adjective already ending in a silent e often has the same masculine and feminine singular form: rouge remains rouge. The plural is normally rouges. Some adjectives change more substantially; learn those forms with the word. Avoid mechanically adding an e to every adjective.

Many descriptive adjectives follow the noun: « un sac bleu », « une table ronde ». Some common adjectives can go before it: « un petit sac ». Position is part of knowing an adjective. This lesson uses only these basic patterns; it does not claim that every adjective has one fixed position in every meaning.

Vocabulary: bleu means blue, rouge means red, petit means small and rond means round. A fictional scene description reads « Les sacs sont bleus. La table est ronde. » The adjective still agrees after être. Checking the noun’s gender and number is more reliable than copying the nearest visible ending.

Worked example: Describe several blue tables using « Les tables sont… ».

Table is feminine.

Tables is plural.

Apply both changes to bleu: bleues.

Answer: Les tables sont bleues.

Check your understanding: Correct « une sac bleue » using the noun sac.

Answer: Un sac bleu.

Why: Sac is masculine singular; both the article and adjective must match it.