Language/French/Grammar/Adjective—adjective compounds
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Compound adjectives — Adjective-adjective compounds
Compound adjectives[edit | edit source]
Like compound nouns, compound adjectives can be made up in a variety of ways. Their internal structure determines the way in which they agree with the noun they modify.
General Rule[edit | edit source]
Where adjectives are coordinated, both agree with the noun:
| Compound Adjective | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| French | sourd-muet | Les enfants sourds-muets ont fait des progrès exceptionnels |
| English | deaf-mute | The deaf-mute children have made exceptional progress |
| French | aigre-doux | J'adore les sauces aigres-douces |
| English | sweet and sour | I adore sweet and sour sauces |
| French | nouveau-né | Les bébés nouveaux-nés sont très fatigants pour leurs parents |
| English | new-born | New-born babies are very exhausting for their parents |
| French | dernier-né | Les filles dernières-nées profitent de la présence de leurs frères et soeurs |
| English | last-born | Last-born girls take advantage of the presence of their brothers and sisters |
| French | grand-ouvert | Ils dorment la bouche grande-ouverte |
| English | wide open | They sleep with their mouths wide open |
Exception[edit | edit source]
Where the first adjective ends in -i, -o, only the second part agrees:
| Compound Adjective | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| French | tragi-comique | Toutes ses pièces étaient tragi-comiques |
| English | tragi-comedy | All her plays were tragi-comédies |
| French | franco-allemand | Dans le cadre de l'union européenne, les accords franco-allemands ont duré plus de trente ans |
| English | Franco-German | Within the European framework, the Franco-German agreements have lasted for more than thirty years |
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Verbs with intransitive and transitive uses
- Typical use of the indefinite article
- Omission of the article with nouns following the verbs être, demeurer, devenir, élire, nommer, rester
- Subject verb agreement — Verb agreement with fractions
- Use of the definite article with superlatives
- Ordinal numbers
- Adverbs ending in —ément derived from adjectives ending in —e
- Well Better Worse
- Plurals
- Quantifiers — tout and chaque
- y and en as an integral part of the verb structure
- Questions
- Negation
- Quand utiliser "et" ou "est" ?
- Use of ce, cela, ça as neutral pronouns