Irregular feminine adjectives: Endings in -ère and -trice
While many French adjectives just add an -e in the feminine form, some endings undergo a spelling change. When describing professions and personal characteristics, you will frequently see these two patterns.
- Masculine -er changes to -ère (premier → première). Notice the grave accent (è) on the feminine ending.
| The first team finishes the project. | La première équipe finit le projet. |
| She studies a foreign language. | Elle étudie une langue étrangère. |
| The grandmother is very proud of her daughter. | La grand-mère est très fière de sa fille. |
| She sleeps an entire day. | Elle dort une journée entière. |
- Masculine -teur changes to -trice (acteur → actrice). This pattern is very common for professions and personality traits.
| She is the new director of the school. | C'est la nouvelle directrice de l'école. |
| She is a beautiful actress. | C'est une belle actrice. |
| My sister is very observant. | Ma sœur est très observatrice. |
| My cousin is a translator for the company. | Ma cousine est traductrice pour l'entreprise. |
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