French For Football/Grammar/Adjectives

Regular formation Just like articles, French adjectives also have to match the nouns that they modify in gender and plurality. Spelling Most adjective changes occur in the following manner: Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form un gardien impressionnant --> une gardienne impressionnante (an impressive male / female keeper) un changement surprenant --> une victoire surprenante (a surprising substitution / victory) un match mouvementé --> une saison mouvementée (an eventful match / season) Plural: add an -s to the singular form un moment fort --> des moments forts (a highlight / some highlights) une équipe forte --> des équipes fortes (a strong team / some strong teams) Pronunciation Generally, the final consonant is pronounced only when it comes before an -e. Most adjectives, such as those above, are affected by this rule. Masculine Pronuciation: impressionnan, surprenan, for Feminine Pronunciation: impressionnant, surprenant, fort With plural adjectives, the -s ending is not pronounced, so the adjective will sound exactly the same as the singular form. Exceptions and Irregularities Adjectives that end in e in the masculine form do not change with gender. When an adjective, such as gros, ends in -s, it does not change in the masculine plural form. Sometimes the final consonant is doubled in the feminine form. Irregular formation Irregular plural formation Examples M Sing. → M. Pl. Masc. Singular → Masc. Plural Notes No change -s -s un joueur français un gros match des joueurs français des gros matchs -x -x un tir chanceux un joueur talentueux des tirs chanceux des joueurs talentueux Add x -eau -eaux un nouveau maillot des nouveaux maillots -al -aux un match amical des matchs amicaux Exceptions: fatal (fatals), final (finals) & naval (navals) Irregular feminine formation Examples Masc. → Fem. Masculine → Feminine Notes No change -e -e adverse, contestable, difficile, imbattable, opportuniste, spectaculaire, tactique When the masc. form ends in an -e, there is no change. The final consonant is pronounced on the masc. form. Final Consonant Doubled -el -elle individuel individuelle When an adjective has one of these endings, the ending of the feminine form is doubled. There is no change of pronunciation when changing from -el to -elle. -il is pronounced "ee" (as in keen), while -ille is similar, with a final yod (pronounced like "ee" in keen with a "y" on the end: [ij] ). -on is pronounced ohhn and -onne is pronounced uhhne. -en is pronounced euhn and -enne is pronounced ehne. -os is pronounced oh and -osse is pronounced ohse. -as is pronounced ah and -asse is pronounced ahse. -il -ille gentil gentille -on -onne bon bonne -en -enne ancien aérien ancienne aérienne -os -osse gros grosse -as -asse bas basse -c change -c -che blanc franc blanche franche -eur change -eur -euse accrocheur prometteur accrocheuse prometteuse -eux change -eux -euse astucieux chanceux astucieuse chanceuse -eux is pronounced euhh and -euse is pronounced euhsse. -g change -g -gue long longue -if change -if -ive décisif défensif décisive défensive er change -er -ère premier dernier première dernière -er is pronounced ay and -ère is pronounced air, though exceptions such as "fier" exist in which both forms are pronounced with an ending similar to the word "air". -et change -et -ète inquiet complet inquiète complète -et is pronounced ay and -ète is pronounced ette. -ou change -ou / -ol -olle fou, fol mou, mol folle molle -ol forms occur before a vowel or mute h. Special rules Word Order Most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French. un joueur expérimenté - an experienced player des joueurs expérimentés - (some) experienced players However, some common French adjectives, including beau, nouveau, and vieux come before the noun. un joli but - a lovely goal Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun. de jolis buts - (some) lovely goals Note that in informal speech, des is very often used in place of de. Adjectives that precede nouns List Adjectives that are used frequently before nouns. These are: affreux (affreuse) autre beau (belle) bon(ne) + court(e) + dernier (dernière) + gentil (gentille) grand(e) + gros(se) + haut(e) jeune + joli(e) large long(ue) mauvais(e) méchant(e) + meilleur(e) nouveau (nouvelle) pauvre petit(e) vieux (vieille) vilain(e) + sometimes placed after a noun, and may change in meaning When these adjectives appear before an indefinite plural noun, they will change the article associated with it: des garçons courageux / de beaux garçons Changes in meaning When grand goes before a noun, it means great. However, when it goes after the noun, it means tall. Likewise, when pauvre goes before a noun, it means unfortunate. When it comes after the noun, it means financially poor. This rule works most of the time, but be careful, "pauvre" can mean "financially poor" even when used before the nouns. Beau, nouveau, and vieux These three adjectives behave differently when placed before a singular masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h: Masc. Sing. Cons. Masc. Sing Vowel Masc. Plural Fem. Sing. (all) Fem. Plural Beau un beau mouvementun bel arretde beaux arrets une belle occasionde belles occasions Nouveau un nouveau joueurun nouvel investisseurde nouveaux investisseursune nouvelle recruede nouvelles recrues Vieux un vieux briscardun vieil amide vieux amisune vieille idéede vieilles idées (Translations: mouvement=interplay, arret=save, occasion=chance, joueur=player, investisseur=investor, recrue=recruit, briscard=veteran, ami=friend, idée=idea) Possessive adjectives In English, we say "her car" when the owner of the car is a woman and "his car" when the owner is a man. In French, they say "sa voiture" even if the owner is a male. It is not the owner who determines the gender of the possessive adjective but the object owned. First person singular - mon, ma, mes Second person singular (informal) - ton, ta, tes Third person singular - son, sa, ses First person plural - notre, notre, nos Second person plural (and polite form) - votre, votre, vos Third person plural - leur, leur, leurs Note: Exception. When a feminine noun starts with a vowel or silent 'h', you should use "Mon" instead of "Ma". Example: Mon ami = ok Ma amie = error! Mon amie = ok. Usage Possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object. C'est mon billet. - It's my ticket. In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject (his sister, her brother). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify. Masculine Nounle billetFeminine Nounla chaussurele billet de MarcMarc's ticketson billethis ticketla chaussure de MarcMarc's boot (or shoe)sa chaussurehis boot (or shoe)les billets de MarcMarc's ticketsses billetshis ticketsles chaussures de MarcMarc's bootsses chaussureshis bootsle billet de MarieMarie's ticketson billether ticketla chaussure de MarieMarie's bootsa chaussureher bootles billets de MarieMarie's ticketsses billetsher ticketsles chaussures de MarieMarie's bootsses chaussuresher boots Whether the third person singular possessive adjectives son, sa and ses should be translated as his or her is indicated by context. Elle a son billet. - She has her ticket. Liaison and adjective changes Liaison occurs when mon, ton, and son are followed by a vowel. Il est monnami. - He is my friend. Il est tonnami. - He is your friend. Il est sonnami. - He is his/her friend. Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s. Ils sont meszamis. - They are my friends. Ils sont noszamis. - They are our friends. Mon, ton, and son are used before a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h. Elision (to m', t', or s') does not occur. Elle est monnamie. - She is my friend. Demonstrative adjectives There are four adjectives (meaning this or these) that demonstrate a specific object: Ce match (masculin) Cet après-midi (masculin before vowel or silent h) Cette semaine (feminine) Ces joueurs (plural) (après-midi=afternoon, semaine=week) Comparative AdjectivesSub. + VerbComparativeAdjectiveComparativeObjectJe suis plusexpérimentéque toi.I ammoreexperiencedthanyouJe suis moinsexpérimentéque toi.I amlessexperiencedthanyouJe suis aussiexpérimentéque toi.I amasexperiencedasyou. Superlative le/la/les + plus/moins + un adjectif le/la/les + meilleur(e)(s)/mieux/pire Acknowledgements This page is based on original text from French/Grammar/Adjectives dated 22 January 2010.