Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Master adjective agreement in French by learning how adjectives like « petit » change to « petite » (feminine) and « petits » (plural), matching the gender and number of nouns accurately.
  1. Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun.
 Singulier  (Singular)Pluriel
Masculin  (Masculine )Petit (Small)Petits (Small)
Féminin  (Feminine )Petite (Small)Petites (Small (feminine plural))

Exceptions!

  1. If the adjective ends with an "e" in the masculine form, then it does not change in the feminine.
  2. The adjective always agrees, even when it is far from the noun it relates to.

Exercise 1: L'accord des adjectifs

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

chaude, suisses, italien, jeunes, italienne, jeune, espagnole, mauvaise

1. Italien:
Mon cousin est ....
(My cousin is Italian.)
2. Chaud:
L'été est une période très ....
(Summer is a very hot period.)
3. Italien:
Je vois ma famille ... en janvier.
(I see my Italian family in January.)
4. Espagnol:
J'ai une carte d'identité ....
(I have a Spanish identity card.)
5. Suisse:
Cet été, nous organisons un week-end avec mes cousins .....
(This summer, we are organising a weekend with my Swiss cousins.)
6. Mauvais:
En hiver, la météo est ....
(In winter, the weather is bad.)
7. Jeune:
Les enfants qui naissent en décembre sont les plus ... de l'année.
(Children who are born in December are the youngest of the year.)
8. Jeune:
Ma plus ... sœur s'appelle Marie.
(My youngest sister is called Marie.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. L'été est une saison ________ en France.

(Summer is a ________ season in France.)

2. En hiver, les journées sont souvent ________.

(In winter, the days are often ________.)

3. Les mois de janvier et février sont en ________.

(The months of January and February are in ________.)

4. Je préfère le printemps parce que les fleurs sont ________.

(I prefer spring because the flowers are ________.)

5. En automne, les feuilles des arbres deviennent ________ et rouges.

(In autumn, the leaves of the trees turn ________ and red.)

6. Les vacances d'été commencent en juillet et en ________.

(The summer holidays start in July and in ________.)

Understanding Adjective Agreement in French (L'accord des adjectifs)

This lesson covers the essential French grammar rule of adjective agreement, which is fundamental for forming correct and natural sentences. In French, adjectives must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun they describe. This agreement affects the ending of the adjective, which can change depending on the noun’s attributes.

Key Concepts

  • Gender Agreement: Masculine and feminine forms of an adjective can differ. For example, the adjective petit (small) changes to petite in its feminine singular form.
  • Number Agreement: The adjective changes when the noun is plural. For instance, petits and petites are plural masculine and feminine forms respectively.
  • Stable 'e' Ending: If the masculine singular form of an adjective already ends with an "e," it remains the same in the feminine singular form (no additional 'e' is added).
  • Consistent Agreement: The adjective always agrees with the noun, even if it is placed far from the noun in the sentence.

Examples of Adjective Forms

SingularPlural
MasculinePetitPetits
FemininePetitePetites

Practical Phrases

  • L'été est une saison chaude en France. — "The summer is a warm season in France." Here chaude agrees in feminine singular with saison.
  • En hiver, les journées sont souvent mauvaises. — "In winter, the days are often bad." Note mauvaises in feminine plural to match journées.
  • Je préfère le printemps parce que les fleurs sont belles. — „I prefer spring because the flowers are beautiful." Belles is feminine plural, matching fleurs.

Important Note on Differences with English

Unlike English adjectives, French adjectives change form to agree with the gender and number of the noun. English adjectives generally do not change: "a small cat" and "small cats" use the same adjective form regardless of gender. This is why mastering agreement in French is crucial for accuracy and natural expression.

Useful words to remember include petit/petite (small), chaud/chaude (warm), mauvais/mauvaise (bad), and beau/belle (beautiful), which all change according to the noun they modify.

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Alessia Calcagni

Languages for communication in international enterprises and organizations

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 17/07/2025 05:04