French Clothing Vocabulary and Adjective Agreement Rules

Comprehensive vocabulary and grammar review flashcards covering French clothing, accessory terms, the verbs porter and mettre, adjective gender and plural formation rules, and adjective placement.

porter

A regular verb meaning "to wear" (e.g., Je porte un pantalon gris et un pull bleu).

mettre

An irregular verb meaning "to put (on)"; conjugated in the present tense as je mets, tu mets, il/elle/iel/on met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils/elles/iels mettent.

mis

The past participle (participe passé) of the verb mettre, used in the passé composé (e.g., J'ai mis, tu as mis).

un débardeur

A tank top.

un tailleur

A woman's suit.

des baskets (n.f.)

Sneakers / trainers (feminine plural noun).

des collants (n.m.)

Tights / pantyhose (masculine plural noun).

un nœud papillon

A bow tie.

les bijoux

Jewelry, which includes items such as une bague (ring), un bracelet, une broche (brooch), un pendentif (pendant), des boucles d'oreilles (earrings), and un collier (necklace).

Regular Feminine Adjective Formation

Most masculine adjectives form the feminine by adding -e (e.g., bleu → bleue, noir → noire, grand → grande, petit → petite).

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -e

Adjectives whose masculine singular form already ends in -e do not change form in the feminine (e.g., bizarre, difficile, drôle, jaune, rouge).

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -x

Most masculine adjectives ending in -x have feminine forms ending in -se (e.g., dangereux → dangereuse, heureux → heureuse, sérieux → sérieuse).

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -f

Masculine adjectives ending in -f have feminine forms ending in -ve (e.g., actif → active, naïf → naïve, neuf → neuve, sportif → sportive).

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -el, -en, or -on

Adjectives ending in -el, -en, or -on double the final consonant before adding -e (e.g., cruel → cruelle, canadien → canadienne, bon → bonne).

gentille

The feminine form of gentil (nice, friendly); it doubles the final -l before adding -e, and the double l is pronounced /y/.

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -et

Some masculine adjectives ending in -et form their feminine with -ète (e.g., complet → complète, discret → discrète, inquiet → inquiète, secret → secrète).

Feminine of Adjectives Ending in -er

Masculine adjectives ending in -er change to -ère in the feminine form (e.g., dernier → dernière, étranger → étrangère, léger → légère).

Irregular Feminine Forms (beau, nouveau, vieux, blanc, favori, long)

beau → belle; nouveau → nouvelle; vieux → vieille; blanc → blanche; favori → favorite; long → longue.

Adjectifs invariables (chic, marron, orange)

Invariable adjectives that do not change form to reflect gender or number, including chic and color adjectives derived from nouns such as marron and orange.

Plural of Adjectives Ending in -s or -x

Masculine adjectives ending in -s or -x do not change form in the masculine plural (e.g., un gros chien → de(s) gros chiens; un repas délicieux → des repas délicieux).

Plural of Adjectives Ending in -eau

Masculine adjectives ending in -eau form their plural with -eaux (e.g., un beau paysage → de(s) beaux paysages; un nouveau voisin → de(s) nouveaux voisins).

Plural of Adjectives Ending in -al

Masculine adjectives ending in -al change to -aux in the plural (e.g., un pull original → des pulls originaux; un étudiant international → des étudiants internationaux).

Mixed-Gender Plural Adjective Agreement

When an adjective modifies two or more nouns, if at least one noun is masculine, the adjective must take the masculine plural form (e.g., Le garçon et la fille sont charmants).

Default Position of French Adjectives

Most French adjectives follow the noun they modify (e.g., C'est un garçon intelligent; C'est une femme cultivée).

Adjectives Preceding the Noun (BAGS)

Common adjectives referring to beauty, age, goodness, and size usually precede the noun: beau, bon, gentil, grand, gros, jeune, joli, long, mauvais, nouveau, petit, vieux.

bel, nouvel, vieil

Special masculine singular forms of beau, nouveau, and vieux used before nouns beginning with a vowel sound (e.g., un bel immeuble, un nouvel immeuble, un vieil immeuble).

Coordination of Multiple Adjectives

When more than one adjective describes a noun, each goes in its usual position; if two occupy the same position (before or after), they are connected by et (e.g., un long et mauvais compte rendu).