Learn French: Il est sérieux, mais elle est toujours heureuse.

Il est sérieux, mais elle est toujours heureuse.

He is serious, but she is always happy.

Breakdown of Il est sérieux, mais elle est toujours heureuse.

Questions & Answers about Il est sérieux, mais elle est toujours heureuse.

Why does heureuse end in "-euse" while sérieux ends in "-eux"?

In French, adjectives must match the gender of the person they describe. Sérieux (serious) is masculine because it describes il (he). Heureuse (happy) is feminine because it describes elle (she). The rule for adjectives that end in -eux in the masculine is to change the ending to -euse for the feminine. If the genders were swapped, we would say il est heureux and elle est sérieuse.

Do you pronounce the final letters in sérieux and heureuse?

In the masculine word sérieux (and heureux), the final -x is completely silent. But in the feminine word heureuse (and sérieuse), you must pronounce the final -se, which sounds like a buzzing "z".

Wait, doesn't toujours mean "still"?

Yes, it can! Toujours is a very common adverb that can mean either "always" or "still", depending entirely on the context. In this sentence, "she is always happy" makes the most natural sense, but "she is still happy" is also a grammatically possible translation.

Since sérieux ends in an "x", does that mean it's plural here?