3.10: Structure - Adjectifs irréguliers

Objectif 

In this section, you will learn how to form irregular adjectives.

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On étudie !

Formes irrégulières du féminin

(a) Below is a list of irregular adjective ending changes with examples.

Terminaisons irrégulières au féminin

Masculin	Exemples	Féminin	Exemples
-c	blanc	-che	blanche
-(i)er	cher, premier	-(i)ère	chère, première
-et	secret net	-ète -ette	secrète nette
-eur -teur	râleur protecteur	-euse -rice	râleuse protectrice
-eux	heureux	-euse	heureuse
-if	créatif	-ive	créative
-gu	aigu	-güe, -guë	aigüe, aiguë
-as, -os, -on	bas, gros, bon	-asse, -osse, -onne	basse, grosse, bonne
-ien	ancien	-ienne	ancienne
-l	formel, cruel, gentil	-lle	formelle, cruelle, gentille
-x	roux, faux	-sse	rousse, fausse

Notes

• -c, -eur and -x can have different feminine endings, so be sure to consult a dictionary or someone else if you are not sure which way to go. See tables below for more on adjectives that end with -c and -x.
• The location of the tréma on -gu may vary. The feminine was originally spelled -guë and this is still very common, even though the spelling was officially changed to -güe in 1990.

(b) Some gender changes are unique to specific adjectives:

Changements de genre uniques

Masculin	Féminin
doux	douce
favori	favorite
frais	fraîche
public	publique
long	longue

(c) Some adjectives have identical masculine and feminine forms. This is generally the case with adjectives ending in e in their masculine form. For example:

Adjectifs qui ne changent pas de terminaison pour indiquer le genre

Masculin ou Féminin	Masculin ou Féminin	Masculin ou Féminin	Masculin ou Féminin
calme	difficile	mince	ironique
propre	imaginaire	riche	sensible
pauvre	minuscule	ridicule	semblable

Formes irrégulières du pluriel

The majority of adjectives are regular in the plural; that is, an -s is added to the singular masculine or feminine forms. There are two major exceptions to this rule:

• Do not add an -s to the masculine form of adjectives ending in -s or -x. The masculine singular and plural forms are thus identical: un animal heureux (a happy animal), des animaux heureux (happy animals). However, the feminine plural form of these adjectives is regular; it is formed by simply adding an -s to the feminine singular form: une fille heureuse (a happy girl), des filles heureuses (happy girls).
• Adjectives ending in -al in the masculine singular form change to -aux in the masculine plural form

The feminine plural form of these adjectives is regular; it is formed by simply adding an -s to the feminine singular form: Fred aime lire la presse internationale. Fred aime aussi les revues internationales. (Frec likes to read international papers. Fred also likes international magazines).

Position des adjectifs

While most adjectives are placed after the noun they modify, some adjectives may precede the noun. To know more about these, go to the Structure : Position des adjectifs.

On pratique !

Activité

Complétez les phrases la bonne forme de l'adjectif entre parenthèses.

1. La rue est ________ (long)
2. Il a des jambes _______ (mince)
3. Le chat est _______ (gros)
4. Ma mère est très __________ (heureux)
5. C'est la ______ semaine. (premier)

On approfondit ! (Practice only-not graded)

Ressources en ligne

Use the following resources to type accents and/or search for words:

• Accents: ç, à, é, è, â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ë, ï, ü 
• Dictionnaire français-anglais

Exercice 1 : adjectifs

Exercice 2 : adjectifs

Exercice 3 : noms et adjectifs au pluriel