Skip to content

French Adjectives Made Easy: Masculine, Feminine and Plural Forms

Do French adjectives confuse you?
Don’t worry — you’re not alone!
In English, adjectives never change:

one small cat, two small cats.

But in French, adjectives agree with the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun.

In this article, you’ll learn:

  • what an adjective is,
  • how to form masculine and feminine adjectives,
  • how to make them plural,
  • and how to use them in real French sentences.

Let’s get started! 🚀


🧠 What Is an Adjective?

An adjective is a word that describes a noun — it tells us what something or someone is like.
It can describe color, size, shape, emotion, or personality.

Examples:

  • un petit chien → a small dog
  • une grande maison → a big house
  • un homme content → a happy man
  • une fille contente → a happy girl

So, adjectives help you add detail and emotion to your French.


⚖️ Step 1: Masculine and Feminine Forms

In French, nouns (and therefore adjectives) are either masculine or feminine.

Usually:

  • the masculine form is the basic one (the one you find in the dictionary),
  • and the feminine form is made by adding -e.
MasculineFeminineEnglish
petitpetitesmall
grandgrandetall, big
françaisfrançaiseFrench
fatiguéfatiguéetired

💡 If the masculine adjective already ends in -e, nothing changes:

un homme triste (a sad man) → une femme triste (a sad woman)


👥 Step 2: Singular and Plural Forms

French adjectives also change for plural nouns.

To make an adjective plural, add -s for most words.

SingularPluralEnglish
petitpetitssmall (masculine)
petitepetitessmall (feminine)

⚠️ If the adjective already ends in -s or -x, it doesn’t change:

un garçon heureuxdes garçons heureux
un chat grisdes chats gris


🧩 Step 3: Combine Gender and Number

Now, you just combine both ideas — gender and plural:

MasculineFeminineMasculine pluralFeminine pluralEnglish
petitpetitepetitspetitessmall
fatiguéfatiguéefatiguésfatiguéestired

💬 Step 4: Practice with Examples

Let’s look at how adjectives change in full sentences:

Regular adjective — “petit / petite” (small):

  • Masculine singular → Un petit chien. → A small dog.
  • Feminine singular → Une petite maison. → A small house.
  • Masculine plural → Des petits chiens. → Small dogs.
  • Feminine plural → Des petites maisons. → Small houses.

🗣️ Pronunciation tip:
In petit, the final t is silent → /pə.ti/
In petite, the t is pronounced → /pə.tit/
French adds the -e in writing and in sound!


Regular adjective — “fatigué / fatiguée” (tired):

  • Masculine singular → Un homme fatigué. → A tired man.
  • Feminine singular → Une femme fatiguée. → A tired woman.
  • Masculine plural → Des hommes fatigués. → Tired men.
  • Feminine plural → Des femmes fatiguées. → Tired women.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Forgetting to make the adjective agree with the noun.

une petit fille → should be ”une petitE fille” ✅ (the adjective must agree)

❌ Using masculine adjectives for feminine nouns.

une homme contente → should be un homme contenT

✅ Always check: gender + plural!


🎯 Final Tips

  • Always learn the masculine and feminine forms together.
  • When you learn a new adjective, note a masculine and feminine example sentence.
  • Listen carefully when French people speak — you’ll start to “feel” what sounds right.

🧩 Quiz

Ready to practise?
Choose the correct form of the adjective to complete each sentence 👇

Let’s Practice the Agreement of Adjectives

1 / 15

Complete the sentence: Un café ___ aide le matin. (hot)

2 / 15

Complete the sentence: Une robe ___. (red)

3 / 15

Choose the correct form: Des étudiants ___ arrivent à l’école. (tired)

4 / 15

Pick the correct adjective: Un film ___. (interesting)

5 / 15

Choose the correct adjective: La pizza ___ sort du four. (hot)

6 / 15

Select the correct form: Les maisons ___ ont des volets bleus. (modern)

7 / 15

Complete the sentence: Le petit chien est ___. (cute)

8 / 15

Choose the correct adjective: Une fille ___ rit avec ses amis. (smiling)

9 / 15

Pick the correct form: Des chats ___. (black)

10 / 15

Choose the correct adjective: Un homme ___ lit le journal. (serious)

11 / 15

Select the correct adjective: Une histoire ___. (funny)

12 / 15

Complete the sentence: Des enfants ___ jouent dans le parc. (happy)

13 / 15

Choose the correct adjective: Un repas ___ réunit toute la famille. (delicious)

14 / 15

Pick the correct form: Une journée ___. (sunny)

15 / 15

Which sentence is correct?

Your score is

The average score is 0%

0%


🌟 Great Job!

You did it! You now know how to make French adjectives agree with masculine, feminine, and plural nouns.

If you’d like to practise with a native French teacher and improve your grammar and pronunciation,
👉 Book a lesson today!