Agreement
CEFR A1
Agreement of the qualifying adjective
A qualifying adjective agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun it describes.
The adjective takes the gender and number of the noun it qualifies.
Examples
Des fleurs blanches et parfumées.
Key word(s): blanches, parfumées
"Fleurs" is feminine plural, so the adjectives take -es.
Un grand arbre vert.
Key word(s): grand, vert
"Arbre" is masculine singular.
Les petites filles joyeuses.
Key word(s): petites, joyeuses
"Filles" is feminine plural.
Des chemins étroits et sinueux.
Key word(s): étroits, sinueux
"Chemins" is masculine plural.
Une longue journée ensoleillée.
Key word(s): longue, ensoleillée
"Journée" is feminine singular.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the feminine -e ("une robe bleu" instead of "bleue")
- Forgetting the plural -s ("des livres ancien" instead of "anciens")
- Failing to make the adjective agree when it is far from the noun
Test yourself
Les maisons sont ___.
Une histoire ___.
Des exercices ___.
Tips to remember
- Always identify the noun being described before making the adjective agree.
- If the adjective qualifies several nouns of different genders, the masculine wins.
- Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms: beau/belle, vieux/vieille, nouveau/nouvelle.
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