Adjectives Flashcards
What is “the black book” in French?
le livre noir
Adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number. Masculine adjectives end in a letter other than -e.
Complete the sentence: “la maison…” (the white house).
blanche
Adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number. Feminine adjectives end in -e.
Masculine adjectives become feminine by…
changing the ending to -e.
How do adjectives ending in consonants become feminine?
by adding -e
Turn “pessimiste” (pessimistic) feminine.
pessimiste
Most adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine retain the same form in the feminine.
*What’s the feminine form of “doux” (sweet)?
douce
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
The feminine form of “original” (original) is…
originale
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
*What’s the feminine form of “heureux” (happy)?
heureuse
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
Complete the sentence: “les livres…” (the black books)
noirs
Adjectives become plural by adding -s.
Translate “white houses.”
les maisons blanches
Adjectives become pluralized by adding an -s.
Special cases of pluralizing adjectives…
tend to follow the same rules as nouns.
List the six most common adjectives that are placed before nouns.
- beau, joli (beautiful)
- jeune (young)
- vieux (old)
- petit (small, little)
- riche (rich)
“Une maison grande” means…
a big house
noun + grand = big + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
Translate “un grand homme.”
a great man
grand + noun = great + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
What does “un bon garçon” mean?
a kind boy
bon + noun = kind + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
The meaning of “un ami bon” is…
a good friend
noun + bon = good + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
Translate “the wrong book.”
le mauvais livre
mauvais + noun = wrong + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
What does “un livre mauvais” mean?
a bad book
noun + mauvais = bad + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
The meaning of “un nouveau chat” is…
new (recently gotten) cat
nouveau + noun = new (recently gotten) + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
State “the brand-new phone” in French.
le téléphone nouveau
noun + nouveau = brand-new + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
Translate “le pauvre chien.”
the poor (unfortunate/miserable) dog
pauvre + noun = poor (unfortunate/miserable) + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
What does “la femme pauvre” mean?
the poor (impoverished) woman
noun + pauvre = poor (impoverished) + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
“Le vrai/honnête journal” means…
the real newspaper
vrai/honnête + noun = real + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
How do you say “the true fact” in French?
le fait vrai/honnête
noun + vrai/honnête = true + noun
Some adjectives change meanings when they’re placed before or after the noun.
The French for “a wooden house” is…
une maison en bois
“de/a + noun” or “en” can be used instead of relative adjectives and designate phenomenon, material, etc.
Translate “yesterday’s newspaper.”
le journal d’hier
The preposition “de” can be combined with other parts of speech to replace relative adjectives.
Turn “fort” (strong) feminine.
forte
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
The feminine form of “grand” (big) is…
grande
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
What’s the feminine form of “chaud” (hot)?
chaude
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
State the feminine form of “principal” (main).
principale
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
Turn “cruel” (cruel) feminine.
cruelle
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
The feminine form of “gentil” (nice) is…
gentille
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
What’s the feminine form of “mauvais” (bad)?
mauvaise
Some adjectives that end in -a, -e, -ar, -l, -m, -z in the masculine change in the feminine.
Turn “bon” (good) feminine.
bonne
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
The feminine form of “parisien” (Parisian) is…
parisienne
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
*What’s the feminine form of “cruel” (cruel)?
cruelle
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
State the feminine form of “pareil” (similar).
pareille
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
*Turn “gentil” (nice) feminine.
gentille
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
The feminine form of “muet” (mute) is…
muette
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
What’s the feminine form of “gros” (big/fat)?
grosse
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -on, -en, -el, -eil, -il, -et, and -s double the final consonant before adding -e.
State the feminine form of “complet” (complete).
complète
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -et alter their -et to -ète.
Turn “prêt” (ready) feminine.
prête
This is an exception to the rule that masculine adjectives ending in -et alter their -et to -ète to become feminine.
The feminine form of “cher” (dear/expensive) is…
chère
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -er change their -er to -ère.
What’s the feminine form of “amoureux” (in love)?
amoureuse
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -x change the -x to -se.
*State the feminine form of “doux” (sweet).
douce
This is an exception to the rule that masculine adjectives ending in -x change the -x to -se to become feminine.
Turn “menteur” (lying) feminine.
menteuse
Masculine adjectives derived from verbs and ending in -eur usually form the feminine by changing -eur to -euse.
Turn “acteur” (acting) feminine.
actrice
Masculine adjectives ending in -eur and not derived from verbs usually form the feminine by changing -eur to -rice.
The feminine form of “antérieur” (anterior) is…
antérieure
This is an exception to the rule that masculine adjectives ending in -eur usually become feminine by changing -eur to -euse or -rice. These exception words become feminine by adding -e.
What’s the feminine form of “actif” (active)?
active
To become feminine, masculine adjectives ending in -f change the -f to -ve.
State the feminine form of “blanc” (white).
blanche
Masculine adjectives ending in -c change the -c to -che to become feminine.
Turn “grec” (Greek) feminine.
grecque
This is an exception to the rule that masculine adjectives ending in -c become feminine by changing -c to -che. Such exception words add -que to become feminine.
The feminine form of “beau” (beautiful) is…
belle
Some adjectives form their feminine irregularly.
The French for “a golden coin” is…
une pièce d’or
“de/a + noun” or “en” can be used instead of relative adjectives and designate phenomenon, material, etc.
