Grammaire 1: irregular gender
On étudie !
We have previously learned how to use descriptive adjectives to describe people and that adjectives always need to agree with the gender (and number) of the nouns they modify.
We have also seen that to make an adjective feminine, we generally add an -e to the masculine form.
|
féminin | |
|---|---|---|
|
Sarah est petite et blonde. | (Eric is short and dark-haired.) (Sarah is short and blonde.) |
|
Elle est amusante aussi. | (He is funny.) (She is funny too.) |
Formes irrégulières du féminin
(a) But there are a few exceptions which you have already been exposed to:
| MASCULINE form
vieux blanc beau |
FEMININE form
vieille (old) blanche (white) belle (beautiful/handsome) |
(b) Below is a (partial) list of additional irregular adjective ending changes with examples.
|
Masculin |
Exemples |
Féminin |
Exemples |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
-(i)er |
cher, premier |
-(i)ère |
chère, première |
dear/expensive, first |
|
|
|
|||
|
-eux |
heureux |
-euse |
heureuse |
happy |
|
-if |
sportif |
-ive |
sportive |
sporty |
|
|
|
|
||
| -os, -on |
gros, bon |
-osse, -onne |
grosse, bonne |
fat/big, good |
|
-ien |
ancien |
-ienne |
ancienne |
ancient/old |
|
-l |
formel, cruel, gentil |
-lle |
formelle, cruelle, gentille |
formal, cruel, nice |
|
-x |
roux, faux |
-sse |
rousse, fausse |
red-haired, false |
(c) Remember that some adjectives have identical masculine and feminine forms. This is generally the case with adjectives ending in e in their masculine form. For example:
| Masculin ou Féminin | Masculin ou Féminin | Masculin ou Féminin | Masculin ou Féminin |
|---|---|---|---|
| calme | difficile | mince | ironique |
| propre | imaginaire | riche | sensible |
| pauvre | minuscule | ridicule | semblable |
Note:
While most adjectives are placed after the noun they modify, you might have noticed that some adjectives may precede the noun. We will learn more about this next semester but feel free to get a sneak preview by clicking on this link Structure : Position des adjectifs.
