français · A1 · grammar · 4 minutes
Adjective agreement
Match every description to the noun it modifies.
Understand the choice
Agreement can change spelling, sound, or both. Trace each adjective to its noun even when another noun is closer, and remember that a mixed plural group normally takes masculine plural agreement.
Core rule: French adjectives agree with the described noun in gender and number; many follow the noun, while a common group of short adjectives often precedes it.
Notice it in context
La chemise blanche et les pantalons noirs sont neufs.
The white shirt and the black trousers are new.
Blanche matches feminine chemise; noirs matches masculine plural pantalons; neufs describes the combined mixed group.
Nous achetons des pommes vertes.
We are buying green apples.
Vertes follows and agrees with feminine plural pommes.
Mon frère est grand et ma sœur est grande.
My brother is tall and my sister is tall.
A predicate adjective after être still agrees with its subject.
What to remember
- Beau, nouveau, and vieux have special masculine forms before a vowel sound: bel, nouvel, vieil.
- Position can change nuance: un ancien professeur may mean a former teacher; un meuble ancien is an old or antique piece.
Common trap: Do not match an adjective with the nearest noun automatically. In une veste et un pantalon noirs, noirs can describe the two-item mixed group.