Check French adjective agreement: find the noun, then fix the ending

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Proofread French adjectives with a room description, four picture cards, irregular forms and a short quiz on the noun each adjective describes.

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In short

Match each adjective to the noun it describes, then check that noun’s gender and number. In la table de mon frère est blanche, blanche describes feminine table, even though masculine frère is closer.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A white table in a calm French room with two small bright bedrooms visible through open doors.
A room description makes la table est blanche concrete. Illustration: Atelier

How do you check French adjective agreement?

Study first: what controls the ending?
SentenceAdjective describesForm
Le salon de mes amies est lumineux.le salonmasculine singular
La cuisine de mon frère est lumineuse.la cuisinefeminine singular
Les chambres que je visite sont lumineuses.les chambresfeminine plural
La table et la chaise sont blanches.la table et la chaisefeminine plural

The owner and the room can have different genders. The verb can also sit between the noun and its adjective. In the third example, the words que je visite add detail about the bedrooms; lumineuses still describes the bedrooms.

Four objects, four agreement patterns

Use the actual form

Study first: four forms worth checking
Masculine singularFeminine singularMasculine pluralFeminine plural
grandgrandegrandsgrandes
calmecalmecalmescalmes
blancblancheblancsblanches
beaubellebeauxbelles
vieuxvieillevieuxvieilles

Ces deux petites chambres sont calmes.

These two small bedrooms are quiet.

Both adjectives describe the same feminine plural noun.

An adjective ending in -e, such as calme, keeps that spelling in the feminine but still takes plural -s. A masculine adjective already ending in -s, such as gris, has the same singular and plural spelling: un canapé gris, des canapés gris.

  • Les tables sont blanc.Les tables sont blanches.

    Tables is feminine plural; use the full form blanches.

  • Mon amie est patient.Mon amie est patiente.

    Amie stays feminine after mon. The possessive changes before a vowel; the adjective still agrees.

Before you finish the description

A self-review aid, not a grade. Ticks are not saved.

Question 1No account needed
Describe the bedrooms.Les chambres de mon oncle sont ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

lumineuses. Chambres is feminine plural, so the adjective is lumineuses.

Question 2No account needed
Describe both pieces of furniture.La table et la chaise sont ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

blanches. Both table and chaise are feminine. Together they take feminine plural blanches.

Question 3No account needed
Complete the description of a female friend.Mon amie est très ___.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

gentille. Mon amie is feminine singular despite mon, so use gentille.

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