Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Les Adjectifs
Adjectives are describing words; they say what something is like.
Can you circle the adjectives in these sentences? Jack is tall. He has short, brown hair and big blue eyes. He is kind and funny. Can you circle the French adjectives in these sentences?
Mon chien est petit. Il est brun et blanc. Il a de petits yeux noirs. Il est mignon et je laime beaucoup.

Remember that all nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. It is important that you bear this in mind when we use adjectives to describe the nouns because the adjective has to agree with the noun. That means that we have to change the spelling of the adjective to make it match the masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun. e.g. if the noun is masculine like le chien then the adjective to describe it must be in the masculine form, so the big dog would be le grand chien. If the noun is feminine like la maison, then the adjective to describe it must be in the feminine form, so the big house would be la grande maison. Notice that I have added an e. Most adjectives make their feminine form by adding an e and their plural form by adding an s. So, the big dogs would be les grands chiens and the the big houses would be les grandes maisons. Have a go at making these adjectives feminine and plural, look up their meanings in a dictionary (you can use the online dictionary if you dont have a paper one at home).

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Masculine bavard grand petit chaud froid court long troit fatigu fort intelligent joli lourd marrant mauvais mchant laid

Plural bavards

Feminine bavarde

Plural bavardes

Meaning talkative

Circle the correct form of the adjective. (Remember that the article before the noun gives you a clue as to whether it is masculine or feminine! le = masculine la = feminine les = plural mon = masculine ma = feminine mes = plural) A. Marie est grand/grande. B. Ma copine est intelligent/ intelligente. C. Jhabite dans un grand/grande appartement. D. La rue est troit/troite. E. La ville est bruyant/bruyante. F. Leau est froid/froide. G. Mon cousin est bavard/bavarde. H. Sa sur est petit/petite. I. Mon sac est lourd/lourde. J. Le professeur est fatigu/fatigue.

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Some adjectives already end in an e. You do not need to add another e in the feminine form. e.g. Le garcon est timide et la fille est timide aussi. See if you can find the meanings to these adjectives ; calme large facile moderne jeune sale mince tranquille sage difficile timide impossible clbre malade faible propre stupide triste Write the correct form of the adjective in brackets. A. Cette robe est (sale) ___________ B. Ton frre est (sage) ____________ C. Ta sur est (bavard) ______________ D. Ses frres sont (grand) _____________ E. Les maisons sont (moderne) _______________ F. Paul a deux chiens (noir) _______________ G. Ma tante est (malade) ________________ H. Mes cousins sont (stupide) _____________ I. Les rues sont (troit) __________________ J. Ma (petit)_________soeur est (sage) ________ K. Jai une (grand) ___________ tortue (brun)_________ qui est (malin) __________ L. Amlie et sa sur sont trs (intelligent) _______________

Score : Count up the ticks !

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Irregular adjectives
Most adjectives form the feminine by adding e and the plural by adding an s as we have seen. However, there is a group of adjectives that do not follow this pattern; they are irregular. Adjectives which end in f when the noun is masculine change to ve when the noun they are describing is feminine. Singular Masculine Feminine neuf neuve sportif sportive Plural Masculine Feminine neufs neuves sportifs sportives Meaning new sporty

Adjectives which end in x when the noun is masculine change to se when the noun they are describing is feminine. Look what happens in the plural; the masculine stays the same while the feminine form adds and s. Singular Masculine Feminine affreux affreuse ennuyeux ennuyeuse heureux heureuse paresseux paresseuse srieux srieuse Plural Masculine Feminine affreux affreuses ennuyeux Ennuyeuses heureux heureuses paresseux paresseuses srieux srieuses Meaning awful boring happy lazy serious

However, we have already come across one adjective that doesnt even follow this irregular pattern!! vieux = old This is the masculine form but if it comes before a noun beginning with a vowel it is spelled vieil vieille = old (feminine) vieux = old (plural masculine) vieilles = old (plural feminine)

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Adjectives which end in s, n or l when the noun is masculine double the consonant and add an e when the noun they are describing is feminine. Singular Masculine Feminine bas basse gros grosse bon bonne ancien ancienne gentil gentille traditionnel traditionnelle Plural Masculine Feminine bas basses gros grosses bons bonnes anciens anciennes gentils gentilles traditionels traditionnelles Meaning low fat good old kind traditional

Adjectives which end in eau when the noun is masculine change to elle when the noun they are describing is feminine. The plural forms add an x in the masculine and an s in the feminine. Singular Masculine Feminine beau belle nouveau nouvelle Plural Masculine Feminine beaux belles nouveaux nouvelles Meaning beautiful new

Before a noun beginning with a vowel or an h the masculine form will change from eau to el. e.g. le Nouvel An - the New Year Using the information above, try to complete the following activities. Fill in the correct form of the adjective which is in brackets: 1. Maman est trs (actif) __________________ 2. Papa nest pas (sportif) __________________ 3. Marianne et Collette sont (sportif) _________________ 4. Philippe et Marc sont (paresseux) ________________________ 5. Elle nest pas (heureux) _________________________ 6. Le film est (ennuyeux) ______________________________ 7. Les chiens sont (heureux) ________________________ 8. Mon chat est (paresseux) _______________________ 9. Ma cousine est (srieux) __________________________

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

10. 11. 12.

La pollution est (affreux) _______________________________ Ma grand-mre est (vieux) _______________________ Mes grand-parents sont (vieux) _______________________

Fill in the correct form of the adjective which is in brackets: 1. Mon oncle est (gros) ____________________ 2. Ma tante nest pas (gros) __________________ 3. Ma petite sur est (gentil) ____________________ 4. Mes parents ne sont pas toujours (gentil) ___________________ 5. Ma grande sur est (beau) ___________________ 6. Elle a un (beau) ______________ chien. 7. Mes copines sont (bon) ___________________ (copines= female friends) 8. Mes grand-parents sont (bon) _____________ 9. Avignon est une ville (ancien) _____________________ 10. La chaise est trop (bas) ________________ ( the chair is too low) 11. Cest un livre (nouveau) ____________________ 12. Le (nouveau) _______________ htel est trs confortable. 13. Nous avons une (nouveau) _______________ voiture. ( We have a new car) 14. Mes notes sont (bon) _____________ (My grades are good. You may need to look up the word note to find out whether it is masculine or feminine) 15. Quelle (beau) _____________vue! (What a beautiful view!) Adjectives which end in er when the noun is masculine change to re when the noun they are describing is feminine. Singular Masculine Feminine fier fire dernier dernire premier premire cher chre Plural Masculine Feminine fiers fires dernier dernires premier premires cher chres Meaning proud last first dear/expensive

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Adjectives which end in c when the noun is masculine change to che or que when the noun they are describing is feminine. Singular Masculine Feminine sec sche franc franche public publique blanc blanche Plural Masculine Feminine secs sches francs franches public publiques blanc blanche Meaning dry frank Public white

Fill in the correct form of the adjective which is in brackets: 1. Cest le (premier) _______________jour des vacances. (It is the first day of the holidays) 2. Cest la (premier) _____________ fois que je vais en France. (I am going to France for the first time) 3. La semaine (dernier) _________________ ctait mon anniversaire. (Last week it was my birthday) 4. Cest la (dernier) _________ tarte aux fraises. ( It is the last strawberry pie) 5. Mes cheveux sont trop (sec) ______________ 6. Jai les mains (sec) _____________ ( I have dry hands) 7. Sa chemise est (blanc) __________________ 8. Mes (cher) ____________ amis. 9. Mon ami est trs (fier) __________ de sa voiture. ( My friend is very proud of his car) 10. Ses parents sont trs (fier) ______________ de lui. (His parents are very proud of him)

COLOURS
All colours are adjectives and they generally follow the same patterns as all other adjectives. Here is a list of colours see if you can work out what the feminine and plural forms will be.

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Singular Masculine Feminine noir bleu vert rouge jaune rose blanc violet brun orange

Plural Masculine Feminine

Meaning

Colours that are also nouns such as orange or marron (chestnut) do not change at all. Here are some of the more common ones. Singular Masculine Feminine marron noisette chocolat marron noisette chocolat Plural Masculine Feminine marron noisette chocolat marron noisette chocolat Meaning chestnut hazel chocolate

Colours that are made up of two words do not change either; Singular Plural Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine bleu marine bleu ple bleu clair bleu fonc bleu-vert bleu marine bleu ple bleu clair bleu fonc bleu-vert bleu marine bleu ple bleu clair bleu fonc bleu-vert bleu marine bleu ple bleu clair bleu fonc bleu-vert

Meaning navy blue pale blue light blue dark blue greeny-blue

Complete the sentences using the colours given in brackets. Remember to change the spelling to make them agree with the noun.

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

1. Sandrine porte un robe (rouge) ___________ (Sandrine is wearing a red dress) 2. Lherbe est (vert) _____________ (The grass is green) 3. Llphant est (gris) _____________ (The elephant is green) 4. Le ciel est (bleu) ________________ (The sky is blue) 5. Les nuages sont (blanc) _______________ ( The clouds are white) (you will need to check whether nuage is masculine or feminine!) 6. Mes bottes en caoutchouc sont (rouge) _____________ (My gumboots are red) 7. (you will need to check whether botte is masculine or feminine!) 8. Jai les cheveux (marron) _________________ 9. Mon frre a les yeux (bleu gris) __________________ 10. Ma nice a les yeux (noisette) ____________________

Position of Adjectives
You have seen lots of sentences now with adjectives and nouns in. Have you spotted any pattern? Which order do the nouns and adjectives appear in? Most adjectives come after the noun which is the opposite to English; e.g. the brown dog le chien brun the modern house la maison modern However, some common adjectives come before the noun as in English; e.g. the small house la petite maison the tall boy le grand garcon Here is a list of some of the adjectives that come before the noun; Petit small Grand Tall /big Beau Beautiful Gros Fat Joli Pretty Haut High Long Long Mauvais Bad

Adjectives 2011 A Robertson

Vieux Jeune Bon

Old Young good

Sometimes, if you use more than one adjective to describe a noun you may see one adjective before the noun and one afterwards. e.g un petit livre intressant a small, interesting book Do these adjectives go before or after the noun? Check in the information above and then translate into English. une montagne (haute) une haute montagne = a high mountain____________ un enfant (sage) __________________________________________________ un oiseau (petit) __________________________________________________ une vue (belle) ___________________________________________________ un garon (paresseux) _____________________________________________ un chteau (vieux) ________________________________________________ une ide (bon) ___________________________________________________ une histoire (intressante) _________________________________________ Une fille (jolie) ___________________________________________________ Un livre (gros) ____________________________________________________ Un btiment (moderne) ____________________________________________ Un voyage (long) _________________________________________________ Une exprience (mauvaise) _________________________________________ Une ville (grande) _________________________________________________ Des chaussettes (blanches) __________________________________________ Un chat (petit/noir) ________________________________________________

Your Score !

Count up the ticks !!