Language/French/Grammar/Masculine-and-feminine-forms-of-adjectives-—-A-change-in-the-final-consonant-or-syllable
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Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives — A change in the final consonant or syllable
In the following cases, addition of final -e is accompanied by a change in the final consonant or the whole of the final syllable:
| Adjective Ending | Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ais/aîche | frais | fraîche | fresh |
| -aux/ausse | faux | fausse | false |
| -er/ère | premier | première | first |
| dernier | dernière | last | |
| étranger | étrangère | foreign | |
| -eux/euse | heureux | heureuse | happy |
| amoureux | amoureuse | in love | |
| nerveux | nerveuse | nervous | |
| affreux | affreuse | frightful | |
| peureux | peureuse | frightened | |
| -eux/-eille | vieux | vieille | old |
| -eur/euse | voleur | voleuse | dishonest |
| flatteur | flatteuse | flattering | |
| trompeur | trompeuse | misleading | |
| moqueur | moqueuse | likes to make fun of others | |
| joueur | joueuse | playful | |
| -eur/eresse | vengeur | vengeresse | vengeful |
| -eur/rice | consolateur | consolatrice | consoling |
| observateur | observatrice | observant | |
| créateur | créatrice | creative | |
| conservateur | conservatrice | conservative | |
| -eau/elle | nouveau | nouvelle | new |
| beau | belle | beautiful | |
| jumeau | jumelle | twin | |
| -c/che | sec | sèche | dry |
| blanc | blanche | white | |
| franc | franche | frank | |
| -f/ve | neuf | neuve | new |
| actif | active | active | |
| bref | brève | brief | |
| créatif | créative | creative | |
| vif | vive | lively | |
| -in/igne | bénin | bénigne | benign |
| malin | maligne | sharp, clever | |
| -ong/ongue | long | longue | long |
| -ou/olle | mou | molle | soft |
| fou | folle | mad | |
| -oux/ouce | 1doux | douce | gentle |
| -oux/ousse | roux | rousse | red-haired |
NB: beau, fou, mou, nouveau, vieux also have a special masculine form - bel, fol,mol, nouvel, vieil - which appears when a following noun begins with a vowel or a so-called 'silent h':
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un bel effet | a fine effect |
| un fol espoir | a vain hope |
| un nouvel homme | a new, a changed man |
| un mol effort | a weak effort |
| un vieil hélicoptère | an old helicopter |
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- il or ça alternating with noun phrase subjects
- The irregular verb être
- ensuite VS puis
- Adjectives which normally occur before the noun
- Quand utiliser "et" ou "est" ?
- Differences in the use of numbers in French and English hundreds thousands millions billions
- Verbs which take noun + adjective or noun + noun complements
- Changes in the stem form of some —er conjugation verbs
- Use of ce, cela, ça as neutral pronouns
- Masculine Nouns Ending in ée
- Present Tense
- Nouns which have the same spoken form but two different written forms
- Directly transitive verbs without objects
- Pronominal Verbs Agreement
- How to use « il s'agit de » in French