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Adjectives and Comparisons
Agreement of adjectives
To describe things and people, we use qualificative adjectives. In French, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. The feminine form of an adjective is very often created by adding an -e to the masculine form.
Frank est allemand.
Frank is German.
Heidi est allemande.
Heidi is German.
Le jardin est grand.
The garden is big.
La fille de Vincent est grande.
Vincent’s daughter is tall.
Note that the final consonant d of allemand and grand is silent, while the d of allemande and grande is pronounced.
If an adjective ends with an -e in the masculine form, the feminine form remains the same.
Cet homme est coupable.
This man is guilty.
Cette femme est coupable.
This woman is guilty.
Cet éléphant est énorme.
This elephant is huge.
Cette baleine est énorme.
This whale is huge.
Note several irregular feminine forms of adjectives:
Il est vietnamien.
He is Vietnamese.
Elle est vietnamienne.
She is Vietnamese.
Marco est italien.
Marco is Italian.
Stefania est italienne.
Stefania is Italian.
Charles est généreux.
Charles is generous.
Caroline est généreuse.
Caroline is generous.
Ce produit est dangereux.
This product is dangerous.
Cette route est dangereuse.
This road is dangerous.
Ce jeu est interactif.
This game is interactive.
Cette activité est interactive.
This activity is interactive.
Cet employé est très passif.
This employee is very passive.
Cette femme est très passive.
This woman is very passive.
C’est un faux témoignage.
It’s perjury.
C’est une fausse alerte.
It’s a false alarm.
Many adjectives are simply irregular. See the boldfaced adjectives in the following list. Note the special forms of these adjectives when they precede a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel:
Ce jeu est fou.
This game is crazy.
Tu as vu le film Docteur folamour?
Have you seen the film Dr. Strangelove?
Cette idée est folle.This idea is crazy.
Ce château est vieux.
This castle is old.
Ce vieil édifice appartenait à un prince.
This old building belonged to a prince.
Cette maison est vieille.
This house is old.
Son nouveau patron est suédois.
His new boss is Swedish.
Son nouvel emploi est ennuyeux.
Her new job is boring.
Ma nouvelle voiture est grise.
My new car is gray.
Ce village est très beau.
This village is very beautiful.
Ce bel homme est son cousin.
This handsome man is her cousin
.Quelle belle histoire!
What a beautiful story!
Le pelage de ce chien est roux.
This dog’s coat is red.Est-elle rousse?
Is she a redhead?
placement of adjectives
As you continue studying French, you’ll become familiar with the irregular feminine forms of certain adjectives. What is often more difficult is knowing where to place adjectives. In French, most qualificative adjectives follow the noun.
Carole aime les plats italiens.
Carole loves Italian dishes.
Danielle préfère la cuisine chinoise.
Danielle prefers Chinese cooking.
Il porte des chaussures noires.
He is wearing black shoes.
C’est un remède efficace.
This is an efficient remedy.
Some adjectives precede the noun.
You just need to memorize them.
C’est un long trajet.
It’s a long commute.
C’est une longue distance.
It’s a long distance.
C’est un beau compliment.
It’s a beautiful compliment.
J’adore cette belle chanson.
I love this beautiful song.
Son nouveau livre est un polar.
His new book is a detective novel.
Sa nouvelle armoire est magnifique.
His new armoire is magnificent.
C’est un bon prix.
It’s a good price.
C’est une bonne affaire.
It’s a good deal.
C’est un mauvais signe.
It’s a bad sign.
C’est une mauvaise critique.
It’s a bad review Je déteste mon vieux canapé.
I hate my old couch.
Cette vieille maison est à vendre.
This old house is for sale.
Ce jeune chef est vraiment doué.
This young chef is really talented.
Cette jeune femme est écrivain.
This young woman is a writer.
Beware: Some adjectives have different meanings, depending on whether they precede or follow the noun.
son ancien mari
her former husband
une statue ancienne
an antique statue
ma chère Carole
my dear Carole
un cadeau cher
an expensive gift
Notre pauvre chien!
Our poor dog!
des pays pauvres
poor countries
sa propre idée
his own idea
une nappe propre
a clean tablecloth
une sale affaire
a nasty business
une fenêtre sale
a dirty window
un grand homme
an important man
une femme grande
a tall woman
le dernier métro
the last subway train
l’an dernier
last year
Adjectives of color
Adjectives describing colors usually agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.Elle a les yeux verts. She has green eyes.
Il a acheté des chemises blanches.
He bought some white shirts.
Les fleurs sur la table sont rouges.
The flowers on the table are red.
En hiver, cette pièce est froide.
In the winter, this room is cold.
Ses trois chats sont noirs.
His three cats are black.
Tes lunettes sont nouvelles?
Are your glasses new?
Adjectives of color that are also nouns of fruit or plants generally remain in the masculine singular form.
Ces chaussures orange sont moches.
These orange shoes are ugly.
Mon frère a les yeux marron.
My brother has brown (chestnut-colored) eyes.
Ces échantillons safran sont parfaits!
These saffron-colored samples are perfect!
Another exception: les adjectifs composés. When two adjectives are combined to provide more specificity, both adjectives generally remain in the masculine singular form.
Cette peinture vert clair ne me plaît pas.
I don’t like this light-green paint.
Sa veste gris foncé lui va très bien.
Her dark gray jacket suits her well.
Ces robes rose bonbon sont trop voyantes.
These candy pink dresses are too flashy.
Achète ces coussins bleu azur!
Buy these azur blue cushions!
Sa fille a les cheveux châtain clair.
Her daughter has light-brown hair.
Comparatives and superlatives
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs
In French, comparisons of adjectives and adverbs can take three forms, plus... que (more . . . than), moins... que (less . . . than), aussi... que (as . . . as). For example:
Ce modèle est plus récent que le mien.
This model is more recent than mine.
New York est plus grand que San Francisco.
New York is bigger than San Francisco.
Marc est moins riche que Paul.
Mark is less rich than Paul.
Luc est aussi célèbre que Bertrand.
Luc is as famous as Bertrand.
Comparison of nouns
To compare quantities, use the following expressions. Note the use of de (d’) with expressions of quantity:
Elle a plus de temps que Valérie.
She has more time than Valérie.
Il a moins de chance que toi.
He is less lucky than you are.
Elle a autant de jouets que toi.
She has as many toys as you do.
Irregular comparatives
Some comparatives have irregular forms.
Ce livre est bon.
This book is good.
Ce livre-ci est meilleur que ce livre-là.
This book is better than that book.
Il se porte bien.He’s feeling well.
Il se porte mieux qu’avant.
He is feeling better than before.
La situation économique est mauvaise.
The economic situation is bad.
La situation économique est pire qu’avant.
The economic situation is worse than before.
Cela n’a pas le moindre intérêt.
That does not have the slightest interest.
Superlatives
To express the ideas of the most, the least, the best, the worst, etc., one uses the superlative. To form the superlative in French, simply precede the comparative form by the definite article. Note thatbefore naming a group or entity, the superlative is followed by de+ the definite article. C’est le plus grand spectacle du monde.
It’s the greatest show on earth.
C’est la plus belle histoire que j’aie jamais lue.
It’s the most beautiful story I ever read.
C’est l’endroit le moins ennuyeux de toute la ville.
It’s the least boring place in the whole city.
The irregular adjectives you learned with the comparatives are also used in the superlative.
Ce roman est bon.
This novel is good.
C’est son meilleur roman.
It’s his best novel.
C’est un mauvais cauchemar.
It’s a bad nightmare.
C’est son pire cauchemar.
It’s his worst nightmare.
