Learn French: Cette étudiante est très active et créative. - This student is very active and creative.

Cette étudiante est très active et créative.

This student is very active and creative.

Breakdown of Cette étudiante est très active et créative.

Questions & Answers about Cette étudiante est très active et créative.

Why do active and créative end in -ve instead of just adding an -e?

Normally, you just add an -e to make an adjective feminine. However, adjectives that end in -f in the masculine form change that -f to -ve for the feminine. Since the masculine forms are actif and créatif, they become active and créative to match the feminine noun (étudiante).

Does changing the ending from -f to -ve change how the words are pronounced?

Yes! The masculine actif ends with a sharp 'f' sound. For the feminine active, the final -e is silent, but it forces you to pronounce the 'v' before it. So, active ends with a soft 'v' sound. The exact same shift happens with créatif and créative.

If we were talking about a male student, how would this sentence change?

It would become: Cet étudiant est très actif et créatif. Notice three changes: Cette becomes Cet (the masculine 'this' used before a vowel sound), the noun drops the -e to become étudiant, and the adjectives change back to their masculine -f endings.

Are there any exceptions to this -f to rule?