Gap-fill
Fatigué or fatigant? Fill the gaps in a tiring day
Tired or tiring? Compare fatigué and fatigant, study all eight adjective forms, then complete a short French story with meaning and agreement clues.
- A2
- 8 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Fatigué means tired: Nora est fatiguée. Fatigant means tiring: La journée est fatigante. Both agree with the noun, and fatigant is spelt with no u after the g.
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fatiguétired
Focus: the state of the person experiencing tiredness
être / se sentir fatigué
Paul est fatigué après le travail.
Paul is tired after work.
Nora se sent fatiguée.
Nora feels tired.
fatiganttiring; tiresome
Focus: what causes tiredness or wears someone out
un travail fatigant / une journée fatigante
Ces réunions sont fatigantes.
These meetings are tiring.
Paul est fatigant quand il interrompt tout le monde.
Paul is tiresome when he interrupts everyone.
What is the difference between fatigué and fatigant?
| Agreement | Tired | Tiring |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | fatigué | fatigant |
| Feminine singular | fatiguée | fatigante |
| Masculine plural | fatigués | fatigants |
| Feminine plural | fatiguées | fatigantes |
A person can take either adjective. Paul est fatigué tells you how Paul feels. Paul est fatigant says that dealing with Paul is tiring. The second sentence can sound blunt. The story below gives a meaning clue for every gap so you can choose the intended adjective.
- Inès
Je suis fatiguée. Et toi ?
I’m tired. What about you?
- Nora
Moi aussi. Cette réunion était fatigante.
Me too. That meeting was tiring.
- Inès
Oui, mais nous avons fini le projet.
Yes, but we’ve finished the project.
Keep the adjective attached to its subject. In ces journées sont fatigantes, the feminine plural ending belongs to journées. In les collègues sont fatigués, the masculine plural ending describes the group. For an all-female group, use fatiguées.
Complete Nora’s account
Une journée bien remplie
Nora et Inès travaillent ensemble aujourd’hui. La matinée est (tiring) : elles préparent une présentation pendant trois heures. À midi, Nora dit : « Je suis (tired · Nora speaking). » Inès répond : « Moi aussi. Ces exercices sont (tiring). »
L’après-midi, Paul rejoint le groupe. Il coupe souvent la parole aux autres. Inès trouve son comportement (tiresome). Paul, lui, dit : « Je suis (tired · Paul speaking), j’ai travaillé toute la nuit. » Le groupe fait une pause, puis reprend la présentation.
À dix-sept heures, le travail est terminé. Nora et Inès sont (tired · two women), mais contentes du résultat. Nora écrit : « Nous avons eu deux journées (tiring) cette semaine. Ce soir, je suis trop (tired · Nora writing) pour sortir. »
Read it in English
Nora and Inès are working together today. The morning is tiring: they prepare a presentation for three hours. At noon, Nora says, “I’m tired.” Inès replies, “Me too. These exercises are tiring.”
In the afternoon, Paul joins the group. He often interrupts the others. Inès finds his behaviour tiresome. Paul says, “I’m tired; I worked all night.” The group takes a break, then resumes work on the presentation.
At five o’clock, the work is finished. Nora and Inès are tired, but happy with the result. Nora writes, “We’ve had two tiring days this week. This evening, I’m too tired to go out.”