Unité 5 – Leçon C Adjectives

What are adjectives? Words that describe……. nouns and pronouns. In French, adjectives usually FOLLOW the nouns they describe. They are either masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Masculine adjectives are used with masculine nouns and pronouns. Feminine adjectives are used with feminine nouns and pronouns.

Most feminine adjectives are formed by adding an “e” to the masculine form. Thierry est un élève diligent. Latifa est une élève diligente. Monsieur Dubois est un prof intelligent. Madame Thompson est une prof intelligente. If a masculine adjective ends in “e”, the feminine adjective is identical!!!!! Ex. Mon frère est timide. Ma sœur est timide.

What if the masculine adjective ends in “-eux”? THEN, the feminine adjective ends in “-euse” Ex. Sébastien est généreux. Ex. Sandrine est généreuse. Ex. George est paresseux. Ex. Fatima est paresseuse.

When do adjectives come BEFORE the noun? When they describe: Beauty, Age, Goodness and Size. For the purposes of this chapter, only ONE adjective comes before the noun → beau. IMPORTANT NOTE: Beau is irregular. Beau – before masc. noun beginning with a consonant. Bel – before masc. noun beginning with a vowel sound. Belle – before a feminine noun.

Beau, bel et belle (beautiful or handsome) Ton frère est un beau garçon. Marc est beau. Bel Simon Cowell est un bel homme. C’est un bel étudiant. Belle Leur mère est une belle femme. C’est une belle affiche. Elle est belle.

What if the noun is plural? Does it have to agree? Of course! If an adjective describes a plural noun, the adjective must be plural too! JUST ADD AN “S” TO THE END OF THE ADJECTIVE TO MAKE IT PLURAL! Ex. Ton cousin est bavard. Mes cousins sont bavards aussi. If the adjective already ends in “s”, do not change it – in this case it stays the same. Ex. Le chat est gris. Les chiens sont gris aussi. For “beau” – add an “x” to make it plural. Ex. Jean a deux beaux chiens.

Same form for both masculine and feminine nouns The masculine form of (most of) these adjectives already end in “e”, so the feminine form is the same! Timide = timid, shy Super = super, terrific, great Sympa (short for sympathique) = nice Égoïste = selfish Bête = dumb, stupid

timide = shy bavard(e) = talkative

méchant(e) = mean sympa = nice

généreux / généreuse = generous égoïste = selfish

intelligent(e) bête = dumb

diligent(e) = diligent/hard-working parasseux / paresseuse = lazy

Adjectives with different forms: Masculine Forms généreux = generous paresseux = lazy intelligent = intelligent bavard = talkative diligent = hardworking méchant = mean beau, bel = handsome Feminine Forms généreuse paresseuse intelligente bavarde diligente méchante Belle = beautiful

BELLWORK Bellwork: To be turned in before you go! In Textbook: Pg 159 - Ex 3 Directions: Write the names of 5 of your family members and then write a sentence telling how they are related to you. Then write a sentence about them using one of the adjectives from the list. Ex: Jennifer C’est ma belle-fille. Elle est bavarde.