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Glossary Gender Agreement
Adjectives agree in gender with the noun they modify.
Most adjectives form the feminine from the masculine by adding -e, including adjectives ending with é:
| masculine | feminine | |
| petit | petite | (small) |
| joli | jolie | (pretty) |
| français | française | (French) |
| noir | noire | (black) |
| élégant | élégante | (elegant) |
| âgé | âgée | (old) |
Note: adjectives ending in -e have the same masculine and feminine forms:
| aimable | aimable | (amiable) |
| difficile | difficile | (difficult) |
Adjectives ending in -x form the feminine by changing -x to -se:
| curieux | curieuse | (curious) |
| heureux | heureuse | (happy) |
Adjectives ending in -f form the feminine by changing -f to -ve:
| actif | active | (lively/active) |
| expressif | expressive | (expressive) |
| fautif | fautive | (wrong/at fault) |
Adjectives ending in -er form the feminine by changing -er to -ère.
| dernier | dernière | (last) |
| étranger | étrangère | (foreign) |
| léger | légère | (light) |
Some adjectives form the feminine by doubling the final consonant before adding -e:
| pareil | pareille | (same, similar) |
| ancien | ancienne | (old/ancient) |
| bas | basse | (low) |
| bon | bonne | (good/kind) |
| cruel | cruelle | (cruel) |
| gentil | gentille | (nice, kind) |
| sot | sotte | (silly, foolish) |
Most adjectives ending with -eur or -teur form their feminine in -euse or -teuse:
un avenir prometteur (a promising future)
une aventure prometteuse (a promising adventure)
However, a few unusual adjectives change -teur into -trice:
un agent corrupteur (a corrupting agent)
une influence corruptrice (a corrupting influence)
Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms:
| blanc | blanche | (white) |
| complet | complète | (complete) |
| doux | douce | (soft) |
| faux | fausse | (false) |
| favori | favorite | (favorite) |
| frais | fraîche | (cool/fresh) |
| franc | franche | (frank) |
| inquiet | inquiète | (worried/uneasy) |
| long | longue | (long) |
| public | publique | (public) |
| roux | rousse | (reddish) |
| sec | sèche | (dry) |
| secret | secrète | (secret) |
| *beau (bel) | belle | (beautiful) |
| *fou (fol) | folle | (mad, crazy) |
| *mou (mol) | molle | (soft) |
| *vieux (vieil) | vieille | (old) |
| *nouveau (nouvel) | nouvelle | (new) |
*These five masculine adjectives have an alternative form before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel or a "mute" h. Their feminine singular is formed by doubling the last consonant before adding the usual -e.
- un bel ouvrage (a good work)
- un fol amour (a crazy love)
- un mol oreiller (a soft pillow)
- un vieil hôtel (an old hotel)
- un nouvel homme (a new man)
See Also:
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FAQs
The masculine form of an adjective is the root/base form of the word. To write out an adjective as feminine, you just have to add an “e” at the end of the word. To make a masculine singular adjective plural, you usually just need to add an 's' at the end of the word.
What are feminine forms of adjectives? ›
Feminine and Masculine Forms of Adjectives
- Gender Agreement.
- Most adjectives form the feminine from the masculine by adding -e, including adjectives ending with é:
- Note: adjectives ending in -e have the same masculine and feminine forms:
- Adjectives ending in -x form the feminine by changing -x to -se:
Examples of enough in a Sentence
Adjective Have you got enough money? That's enough talk for now; let's get started. There's enough food for everyone.
Does enough come before or after the adjective? ›
enough comes after adjectives and adverbs. I'm not tall enough to reach the top shelf. Your marks are good enough to study engineering at university.
How do you determine if a word is masculine or feminine? ›
How do I know whether a word is masculine or feminine?
- If a noun refers to a male person it will be masculine, if it refers to a female person it will be feminine.
- Nouns with these endings will (generally) be masculine: -age. -ment. -il, -ail, -eil, -ueil. ...
- Nouns with these endings will (generally) be feminine:
Masculinity is seen to be the trait which emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth, and differentiated gender roles. Femininity is seen to be the trait which stress caring and nurturing behaviors, sexuality equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender roles.
What are feminine and masculine forms? ›
The feminine includes all living beings of female sex (e.g. woman, girl, cow...) and diminutives; the masculine encompasses all other nouns (e.g. man, boy, pot, broom...).
What are masculine adjectives? ›
masculine (adjective as in like a man) Strongest matches. macho male manful manlike manly virile. Strong matches. brawny hardy husky muscular robust strapping strong sturdy ultramasculine vigorous.
What is a feminine adjective? ›
adjective. adjective. /ˈfɛmənən/ 1having the qualities or appearance considered to be typical of women; connected with women That dress makes you look very feminine.
What is a five sentence for enough? ›
How to Use enough in a Sentence
- Have you got enough money?
- That's enough talk for now; let's get started.
- There's enough food for everyone.
- No, the two of us don't have enough time to write a book. ...
- There was the love that didn't last and the affection that wasn't enough.
What Are Their Main Differences? 'Too' and 'enough' are often misused by English learners. It is because they are close to their definition. In general, 'too' means more than it is needed, while 'enough' means as much as needed.
What is the grammar rule for enough? ›
'Enough' as a determiner stands before a noun or a noun phrase. It does not matter if the noun is countable or uncountable. For example: That's enough money for this trip; let's get started. 'Enough' stands before the uncountable noun 'money.
What type of word is "enough"? ›
Enough is an adjective that describes something that is adequate for an intended purpose. Enough is also used as an adverb to mean sufficiently or fully. Enough also has senses as a pronoun and an interjection. Enough describes something as being adequate or sufficient.
What is the plural form of enough? ›
enough (plural enoughs)
What is a masculine adjective? ›
adjective. /ˈmæskjəlɪn/ /ˈmæskjəlɪn/ having the qualities or appearance considered to be typical of men; connected with or like men. He was handsome and strong, and very masculine.
How do you classify masculine and feminine? ›
Man (masculine) and Woman (feminine) Boy (masculine) and Girl (feminine) King (masculine) and Queen (feminine) Father (masculine) and Mother (feminine)
Can adjectives be gendered? ›
To begin our research on gendered language, we made separate lists of words found commonly in research and known generally as heavily gendered adjectives. For example, some male gendered adjectives include brave, tough and arrogant whilst female gendered adjectives include emotional, elegant and neat.
