Adjective Agreement (masculine/feminine, singular/plural)

In French, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This is one of the most fundamental rules of French grammar and one that English speakers must pay special attention to, since English adjectives never change form.

The Basic Principle

In English, we say "a tall man" and "a tall woman" — the adjective "tall" stays the same. In French, the adjective changes:

English	French
a tall man	un homme grand
a tall woman	une femme grande
tall men	des hommes grands
tall women	des femmes grandes

The adjective grand has four forms: grand, grande, grands, grandes.

The Default Rules

Forming the Feminine

The most common rule: add -e to the masculine form.

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
petit	petite	small
grand	grande	tall/big
français	française	French
intelligent	intelligente	intelligent
content	contente	happy
blond	blonde	blond
joli	jolie	pretty
bleu	bleue	blue
noir	noire	black
vert	verte	green

Note: If the masculine form already ends in -e, the feminine is the same: un homme calme, une femme calme (calm).

Forming the Plural

The most common rule: add -s to the singular form.

Singular	Plural	Meaning
grand	grands	tall (masc. pl.)
grande	grandes	tall (fem. pl.)
petit	petits	small (masc. pl.)
petite	petites	small (fem. pl.)

Note: If the singular form already ends in -s or -x, the plural is the same: un chat gris, des chats gris (grey).

Special Feminine Endings

Many adjectives follow patterns beyond simply adding -e:

Doubling the final consonant + e

Masculine ending	Feminine ending	Example (M → F)
-el	-elle	naturel → naturelle
-eil	-eille	pareil → pareille
-en	-enne	ancien → ancienne
-on	-onne	bon → bonne
-et	-ette	muet → muette
-os	-osse	gros → grosse
-as	-asse	bas → basse

Changing the ending

Masculine ending	Feminine ending	Example (M → F)
-eux	-euse	heureux → heureuse
-eur	-euse	menteur → menteuse
-teur	-trice	créateur → créatrice
-f	-ve	actif → active
-er	-ère	premier → première
-c	-che	blanc → blanche
-c	-que	public → publique
-g	-gue	long → longue

Examples in sentences

Il est heureux. Elle est heureuse. — He is happy. She is happy.
Un garçon sportif. Une fille sportive. — A sporty boy. A sporty girl.
Le premier jour. La première fois. — The first day. The first time.
Un mur blanc. Une maison blanche. — A white wall. A white house.
Un chemin long. Une route longue. — A long path. A long road.
Un homme menteur. Une femme menteuse. — A lying man. A lying woman.

Special Plural Forms

Masculine adjectives ending in -al → -aux

Singular	Plural	Meaning
national	nationaux	national
normal	normaux	normal
spécial	spéciaux	special
original	originaux	original
international	internationaux	international

Exception: banal → banals (not banaux), fatal → fatals, naval → navals.

Masculine adjectives ending in -eau → -eaux

Singular	Plural	Meaning
beau	beaux	beautiful
nouveau	nouveaux	new
jumeau	jumeaux	twin

Adjectives That Don't Change

Some adjectives are invariable — they never change form regardless of gender or number:

Colours derived from nouns

Adjective	Meaning	Example
marron	brown (chestnut)	des yeux marron
orange	orange	des fleurs orange
crème	cream	des murs crème
turquoise	turquoise	des eaux turquoise

Compound colour adjectives

Adjective	Example
bleu clair	des yeux bleu clair (light blue)
vert foncé	des arbres vert foncé (dark green)
rouge vif	des lèvres rouge vif (bright red)

Rule: When a colour is modified by another word, neither word agrees: des chaussures bleu marine (navy blue shoes).

Agreement with Multiple Nouns

When an adjective describes multiple nouns of different genders, the masculine plural form is used:

Le garçon et la fille sont contents. — The boy and girl are happy. (masculine plural)
La table et le bureau sont grands. — The table and desk are big. (masculine plural)
Ma mère et mon père sont français. — My mother and father are French. (masculine plural)

Rule: Even if there are ten feminine nouns and one masculine noun, the adjective is masculine plural. This is the traditional rule in French grammar.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Forgetting feminine agreement

WRONG: Elle est grand.
CORRECT: Elle est grande.

Mistake 2: Adding -e to adjectives already ending in -e

WRONG: une femme calmee
CORRECT: une femme calme (no change needed)

Mistake 3: Making invariable colour adjectives agree

WRONG: des yeux marrons
CORRECT: des yeux marron (invariable)

Mistake 4: Using feminine form for masculine nouns

WRONG: un homme heureuse
CORRECT: un homme heureux

Summary

French adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). The default rules are: add -e for feminine and -s for plural. Many adjectives follow special patterns for the feminine (-eux → -euse, -f → -ve, -er → -ère, etc.) and plural (-al → -aux). Some adjectives are invariable (marron, orange, compound colours). When an adjective describes nouns of mixed gender, the masculine plural is used.