A qualifying adjective provides detail about a noun. It tells what a person, an object, a place or an idea resembles, or in what state it is. In a white house, white describes the color of the house. In a calm child, it describes the behavior. Without an adjective, the noun remains general. With the adjective, the meaning becomes clearer and more concrete. The adjective can express a quality, a form, a size, a color, an age or a state. It often completes the work of the article and the noun, and its form depends on the Agreement of the adjective.

The adjective takes the gender of the noun it accompanies. With a masculine noun, we keep the masculine form. With a feminine noun, the feminine form is usually made by adding an e to the masculine base. Petit becomes petite, grand becomes grande, content becomes contente. When the masculine already ends with e, the form often stays identical, as in un visage calme and une voix calme. Some endings change more, and these forms follow the rules seen in Formation de l'Adjectif. The adjective is therefore placed in the feminine as soon as the noun it describes is feminine.

Gender agreement with the noun

Idea
The adjective takes the gender of the noun it describes.
In the feminine, many adjectives take a final e.
Some adjectives also change inside the word in the feminine.

The adjective becomes plural when the noun is plural. The most common form is to add s: un livre intéressant, des livres intéressants; une robe noire, des robes noires. If the adjective already ends with s or x, the form stays the same in the plural. When the noun changes number, the adjective changes with it, even if it is far from the noun in the sentence. This rule works with the Agreement of the adjective and also applies to adjectives placed before the noun.

Number agreement with the noun

Idea
The adjective takes the number of the noun it accompanies.
In the plural, many adjectives take a final s.
If the adjective is already plural in the form, it remains without visible change.

Some adjectives do not change in gender or number. Their form remains identical with a masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun. This is the case for several color adjectives formed with two words, such as bleu clair, vert foncé, gris perle. You write une chemise bleu clair and des chemises bleu clair. The adjectival part remains fixed because it functions as a block. In common usage, you also encounter some borrowed or specialized adjectives that do not take the usual agreement markings.

Adjectives that keep the same form

Idea
Some adjectives of color composed stay invariable.
Adjectives formed with several words often stay invariable.
When the color resembles a noun, it often stays unagreed.

The adjective most often comes after the noun: a fast car, a funny movie, new shoes. Some very common adjectives are placed before the noun, especially those of size, age, beauty, goodness, number or value: a great tree, a young girl, a good meal, a small house. The position therefore depends on usage and meaning. The general rule is verified in Position de l'adjectif. When the adjective and the noun form a tight unit, they are read together as a single unit of meaning.

Position of the adjective in the sentence

Usage	Explanation
After the noun	The adjective is often placed after the noun to describe a concrete quality.
Before the noun	Some short or common adjectives go before the noun.
Expressive effect	Position can be used to give a more expressive nuance.

Some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun. Un grand homme denotes an important man, whereas un homme grand refers to his height. Un pauvre enfant may express pity, while un enfant pauvre indicates that he lacks money. Un certain regard does not have the same effect as un regard certain. The position of the adjective thus modifies the message. Before the noun, the adjective can give a more subjective or more general impression; after the noun, it often describes a more concrete and precise property.

Meaning changed by position

Usage	Explanation
Before the noun	Some adjectives take a figurative meaning when they come before the noun.
After the noun	The same adjective often keeps its literal meaning after the noun.
Personal evaluation	Position can also show a more subjective appreciation.

After être, devenir, sembler, paraître, rester, demeurer or avoir l’air, the adjective no longer describes a noun directly. It functions as a subject complement. In Marie est fatiguée, fatiguée gives Marie's state. In Le ciel devient gris, gris indicates a change. In Ils semblent heureux, the adjective completes the subject with a perceived quality. The adjective agrees with the subject, not with the verb. We thus have a subject + verb + subject complement construction, different from the simple placement before or after the noun.

Predicate adjective

Usage	Explanation
After être	After to be, the adjective describes the state of the subject.
After devenir	After to become, the adjective indicates a change of state.
After sembler	After to seem, the adjective expresses an impression.

Some adjectives have particular forms depending on the following word. Beau becomes bel before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or a mute h: un bel appartement. Before a usual masculine noun, we keep beau: un beau jardin. In the feminine, we say belle. Nouveau becomes nouvel before a vowel or mute h: un nouvel élève ; in the feminine, nouvelle. Vieux becomes vieil before a vowel or mute h: un vieil ami ; in the feminine, vieille. Fou follows the same kind of change with fol before a vowel or mute h: un fol espoir, une folle idée. These particular forms follow usage and agree in gender and number like the other adjectives.

Verb	Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
	masculin pluriel	fou
	masculin pluriel	beau
	masculin singulier	beau
	féminin pluriel	nouveau
	féminin singulier	nouveau
	féminin pluriel	fou
	féminin singulier	vieux
	féminin pluriel	vieux
	féminin pluriel	beau
	masculin singulier	nouveau
	masculin singulier	fou
	masculin singulier	vieux
	féminin singulier	beau
	masculin pluriel	vieux
	féminin singulier	fou
	masculin pluriel	nouveau

Particular forms of the adjectives

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
masculin singulier	beau	beau
féminin singulier	beau	belle
masculin pluriel	beau	beaux
féminin pluriel	beau	belles
masculin singulier	nouveau	nouveau
féminin singulier	nouveau	nouvelle
masculin pluriel	nouveau	nouveaux
féminin pluriel	nouveau	nouvelles
masculin singulier	vieux	vieux
féminin singulier	vieux	vieille
masculin pluriel	vieux	vieux
féminin pluriel	vieux	vieilles
masculin singulier	fou	fou
féminin singulier	fou	folle
masculin pluriel	fou	fous
féminin pluriel	fou	folles

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