Changing Masculine To Singular Feminine

An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. All French adjectives agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the nouns they describe.

Changing Masculine To Singular Feminine
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. All French adjectives agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the nouns they describe. In fact, in French, all words in a sentence must agree with each other: If, for example, the noun or pronoun is singular, its verb and any adjectives describing it must also be singular. If the noun is feminine, the adjective describing it must also be feminine.
Unlike English, most French adjectives are placed after the nouns they modify. A few adjectives, however, precede the noun. In addition, when you use more than one adjective to describe a noun, you must follow placement rules.
Most adjectives add e to the masculine singular form to get the feminine singular. Be careful when you see masculine adjectives ending in - e, -eux, -f, and - er, because for those, you do not simply add e. (Note that adding this e to a previously silent consonant causes that consonant to be pronounced. No pronunication changes, however, occur when adding e to a vowel.) See Table 1 for a list of common adjectives in their masculine or feminine form.
TABLE 1 Forming Feminine Adjectives
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
américain (American)
américaine
amusant (fun)
amusante
bleu (blue)
bleue
brun (brunette)
brune
blond (blonde)
blonde
charmant (charming)
charmante
content (happy)
contente
court (short)
courte
élégant (elegant)
élégante
fort (strong)
forte
français (French)
française
grand (big)
grande
haut (tall, big)
haute
intelligent (intelligent)
intelligente
intéressant (interesting)
intéressante
joli (pretty)
jolie
lourd (heavy)
lourde
ouvert (open)
ouverte
parfait (perfect)
parfaite
petit (small)
petite
poli (polite)
polie
prochain (next)
prochaine
vrai (true)
vraie
Masculine adjectives that end in a silent e
Singular adjectives that end in a silent e do not change in the feminine. Masculine and feminine forms are spelled and pronounced in the same manner, as follows:
aimable (kind, pleasant)
célébre (famous)
comique (comical)
confortable (comfortable)
drôle (funny)
facile (easy)
faible (weak)
formidable (great)
honnête (honest)
magnifique (magnificent)
maigre (thin)
malade (sick)
mince (thin)
moderne (modern)
pauvre (poor)
proper (clean)
sale (dirty)
sincére (sincere)
splendide (splendid)
sympathique (nice)
triste (sad)
vide (empty)
Masculine adjectives that end in é
Form the singular feminine of singular masculine adjectives ending in é by adding - e, as shown in Table 2 .
TABLE 2 Forming Feminine Adjectives of Words Ending in é
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
âgé (old, aged)
âgée
dévoué (devoted)
dévouée
fatigué (tired)
fatiguée
occupé (busy)
occupée
situé (situated)
située
Masculine adjectives that end in eux
Masculine singular adjectives ending in eux form the feminine by changing - x to - se, as shown in Table 3 .
TABLE 3 Forming Feminine Adjectives of Words Ending in eux
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
affectueux (affectionate)
affectueuse
ambitieux (ambitious)
ambitieuse
chanceux (lucky)
chanceuse
consciencieux (conscientious)
consciencieuse
courageux (courageous)
courageuse
curieux (curious)
curieuse
dangereux (dangerous)
dangereuse
délicieux (delicious)
délicieuse
furieux (furious)
furieuse
généreux (generous)
généreuse
heureux (happy)
heureuse
malheureux (unhappy)
malheureuse
paresseux (lazy)
paresseuse
peureux (fearful)
peureuse
sérieux (serious)
sérieuse
Masculine adjectives that end in f
Form the feminine singular of masculine singular adjectives ending in f by changing - f to - ve. See Table 4 .
TABLE 4 Forming Feminine Adjectives of Words Ending in f
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
actif (active)
active
attentif (attentive)
attentive
imaginatif (imaginative)
imaginative
impulsif (impulsive)
impulsive
intuitif (intuitive)
intuitive
naïf (naive)
naïve
neuf (new)
neuve
sportif (sporty, athletic)
sportive
vif (active)
vive
Masculine adjectives that end in er
Masculine singular adjectives ending in - er form the feminine by changing - er to - ére, as shown in Table 5 .
TABLE 5 Forming Feminine Adjectives of Words Ending in er
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
cher (dear, expensive)
chére
dernier (last)
derniére
entier (entire)
entiére
étranger (foreign)
étrangére
fier (proud)
fiére
léger (light)
légére
premier (first)
premiére
Masculine adjectives that end in consonants
Some masculine singular adjectives form the feminine by doubling the final consonant before the - e ending. See Table 6 .
TABLE 6 Forming Feminine Adjectives of Some Words Ending in Consonants
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
ancien (ancient, old)
ancienne
bas (low)
basse
bon (good)
bonne
cruel (cruel)
cruelle
européen (European)
européenne
gentil (nice, kind)
gentille
gros (fat, big)
grosse
Masculine irregular adjectives
The irregular adjectives shown in Table 7 have no rules and must be memorized.
TABLE 7 Irregular Adjectives
Masculine Singular Adjective
Feminine Singular Adjective
beau (beautiful)
belle
blanc (white)
blanche
complet (complete)
compléte
doux (sweet, gentle)
douce
faux (false)
fausse
favori (favorite)
favorite
frais (fresh)
fraîche
franc (frank)
franche
inquiet (worried)
inquiéte
long (long)
longue
nouveau (new)
nouvelle
public (public)
publique
sec (dry)
séche
secret (secret)
secréte
vieux (old)
vieille
The French use special forms of beau (bel), nouveau (nouvel), and vieux (vieil) before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel or vowel sound. If, however, the adjective comes after the noun, the regular masculine form is used:
un bel arbre (a beautiful tree); L'arbre est beau . (The tree is beautiful.)
un nouvel appartement (a new apartment); L'appartement est nouveau . (The apartment is new.)
un vieil avion (an old airplane); L'avion est vieux . (The airplane is old.)
Cliffs Notes Online



Local Articles
Education
Home