French 1 - Week 13 notes

ADJECTIVES

Group 1: feminine form ends in “e” (pronounce preceding consonant)

blond(e), court(e) = short, grand(e), laid(e) = ugly, petit(e), vert(e), gris(e)

Group 2: feminine form ends in “e” but pronunciation is the same

bleu(e), joli(e) = pretty, noir(e)

Group 3: feminine form end in “e” but vowel is pronounced differently

brun/brune = dark-haired

Group 4: masculine and feminine forms are the same

jeune = young, raide = straight

Group 5: unique adjectives

marron = brown (not used for hair): does not change for feminine or plural

châtain = brown-haired: changes for plural only (châtains)

Most adjectives will add an “s” to make them plural:

Les garçons sont petits. Les filles sont petites.

Irregular adjectives

beau/belle (beautiful), nouveau/nouvelle (new)

beau     belle     beaux     belles

nouveau     nouvelle     nouveaux     nouvelles

vieux/vieille (old)

vieux     vieille     vieux     vieilles

heureux/heureuse (happy) 

heureux     heureuse     heureux     heureuses

curieux/curieuse, nerveux/nerveuse, sérieux/sérieuse, malheureux/malheureuse, roux/rousse (red for hair), 

Regular plural forms: add “s”

blanc/blanche (white), bon/bonne (good), gros/grosse (big), fier/fière (proud)

e.g. bon     bonne     bons     bonnes

Most adjectives follow nouns. These adjectives are exceptions:

Beau, bon, grand, gros, jeune, joli, long, nouveau, petit, vieux

Special masculine adjective forms if the noun begins with a vowel:

Bel - Ce chien est un bel animal. (This dog is a pretty animal)

Vieil - Mon grand-père est un vieil homme. (silent “h”)

Nouvel - Pierre est un nouvel ami