Making Adjectives Feminine
In French, adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. The regular way to make an adjective feminine is to add an -e.
| The coffee is very hot. | Le café est très chaud. |
| The water is very cold. | L'eau est très froide. |
Notice how the adjectives change to match each noun:
| The coffee is hot and the water is cold. | Le café est chaud et l'eau est froide. |
The Pronunciation Shift
Adding the feminine -e often changes the pronunciation. In many masculine adjectives, the final consonant is silent. When you add the -e, you pronounce that final consonant.
Listen to the difference between masculine fort (silent "t") and feminine forte (pronounced "t"):
| The dog is strong, but the cat is small. | Le chien est fort, mais le chat est petit. |
| She is very strong. | Elle est très forte. |
The same applies to adjectives ending in "s". The final consonant in français becomes a "z" sound in the feminine française.
| I am a French man. | Je suis un homme français. |
| She is French. | Elle est française. |
Adjective Placement
Most adjectives in French are placed after the noun they describe.
| The book is very fun. | Le livre est très amusant. |
| She is a fun girl. | C'est une fille amusante. |
A sentence can have multiple adjectives, and they must all agree with the noun:
| The French car is fun. | La voiture française est amusante. |
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