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French · Grammar · A1 to B1

French adjectives: agreement, BAGS, and the ones that change meaning

BAGS adjectives go before the noun · tap a letter
uneajolieprettyrobedress
ün zho-LEE ROB · “a pretty dress”Why: joli adds -e for a feminine noun: jolie.

Short answer: French adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number: add -e for feminine and -s for plural (petit, petite, petits, petites). In speech, the feminine -e often makes the final consonant heard: petit “puh-TEE”, petite “puh-TEET”. Most adjectives come after the noun (une voiture rouge), but short common ones, remembered as BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size), come before: une belle maison. A few change meaning with position: mon ancien professeur (my former teacher) vs un bâtiment ancien (an old building).

Feminine forms

Petit, petite, heureux, heureuse

petitpetite “puh-TEE”: t is silent“puh-TEET”: the e makes the t heard
You often hear the feminine before you see it: grand/grande, vert/verte, français/française.
Masculine endingFeminineExample
most+ epetit → petite
-eno changerouge → rouge
-eux-euseheureux → heureuse
-if-ivesportif → sportive
-er-èrecher → chère
-en, -on-enne, -onnecanadien → canadienne · bon → bonne
irregular—blanc → blanche · long → longue · beau → belle
Position changes meaning

Mon ancien professeur, un bâtiment ancien

ancienmon ancien professeurmy former teacherun bâtiment ancienan old building
chermon cher amimy dear friendun restaurant cheran expensive restaurant
proprema propre voituremy own carune voiture proprea clean car
seulle seul enfantthe only childun enfant seula child alone
Beau, nouveau, vieux before a vowel

Un bel homme, un vieil ami

beau → bel
unabelhandsomehommeman
an bel OM · “a handsome man”Why: Before a masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h.
nouveau → nouvel
lethenouvelnewanyear
luh noo-vel AN · “the New Year”Why: Same rule: nouvel an, not nouveau an.
vieux → vieil
unanvieiloldamifriend
an vyay ya-MEE · “an old friend”Why: vieil sounds like the feminine vieille.
Colour adjectives

Des chaussures marron, une robe bleu clair

Most colours agree like other adjectives. But colours named after a thing (marron = chestnut, orange) and compound colours (bleu clair) never change.

Comparing with adjectives

Plus grand que, aussi beau que

More
ParisParisestisplus grandmore bigque Lyon.than Lyon
pa-REE ay plü GRAN kuh lee-YON · “Paris is bigger than Lyon.”Why: plus + adjective + que.
As … as
Ellesheestisaussi grandeas tallque lui.as him
el ay oh-SEE GRAND kuh LWEE · “She’s as tall as him.”Why: The adjective still agrees: grande.
Better
C’estit-ismeilleur.better
say may-YUHR · “It’s better.”Why: bon → meilleur, never plus bon.
The most
la plus bellethe most beautifulvillecity
la plü BEL VEEL · “the most beautiful city”Why: Superlative: le/la/les plus + adjective.
Keep going

Related guides

laArticles →le, la, les: matching the noun.petitsPlurals →-s, -x and agreement.plus grandComparatives →plus grand que, le meilleur.bleueColours vocabulary →rouge, bleu, vert in use.