An irregular feminine adjective form is a feminine form that changes in more than the usual way. In English, adjectives such as long or soft do not change according to the noun.
In French, many adjectives form the feminine by adding -e, but others change their stem, consonant, or ending.
For the general rules of adjective agreement, see Adjective agreement.
Different feminine adjective stems
Some adjectives have a feminine form that differs significantly from the masculine form. Instead of simply adding -e, part of the adjective changes:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| beau | belle | beautiful |
| nouveau | nouvelle | new |
| vieux | vieille | old |
| fou | folle | crazy, mad |
| mou | molle | soft |
The masculine and feminine forms agree with the noun they describe:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Nous visitons un beau jardin. | We are visiting a beautiful garden. |
| Ils habitent dans une belle maison. | They live in a beautiful house. |
| Paul achète un nouveau vélo. | Paul is buying a new bike. |
| Marie conduit une nouvelle voiture. | Marie drives a new car. |
Some of these adjectives also have a special masculine form before a singular noun beginning with a vowel or silent h: bel, nouvel, vieil, and, less commonly, fol and mol.
For example, un bel homme means a handsome man. For information on how these forms are used, see Adjective position.
Adjectives ending in -x
Adjectives ending in -x do not all form the feminine in the same way. Depending on the adjective, the feminine can end in -sse, -ce, or -se:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| faux | fausse | false |
| roux | rousse | red-haired, ginger |
| doux | douce | soft, gentle, mild |
| jaloux | jalouse | jealous |
These feminine forms appear when the adjective describes a feminine noun:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Le caissier refuse un faux billet. | The cashier refuses a counterfeit bill. |
| Le journal publie une fausse nouvelle. | The newspaper publishes a false story. |
| Je préfère un thé doux. | I prefer a mild tea. |
| J'aime sa voix douce. | I like her soft voice. |
Because there is no single feminine ending for adjectives in -x, the form depends on the individual adjective.
Feminine forms ending in -sse
Some masculine adjectives ending in -s form the feminine with this spelling change:
-s → -sse
The final s is doubled before -e:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| gros | grosse | big, large |
| bas | basse | low |
| épais | épaisse | thick |
The change appears when the adjective agrees with a feminine noun:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Mon frère promène un gros chien. | My brother walks a big dog. |
| Ma sœur porte une grosse valise. | My sister carries a large suitcase. |
| Le mur est bas. | The wall is low. |
| La table est basse. | The table is low. |
This pattern applies to certain adjectives ending in -s, but not to all of them.
Feminine forms ending in -ille
The adjective gentil forms its feminine by doubling the final l and adding -e:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| gentil | gentille | kind, nice |
Use gentil with masculine nouns and gentille with feminine nouns:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Les enfants aiment leur oncle gentil. | The children like their kind uncle. |
| Les enfants aiment leur tante gentille. | The children like their kind aunt. |
| Tu connais un garçon gentil. | You know a kind boy. |
| Tu connais une fille gentille. | You know a kind girl. |
This spelling change does not apply to every adjective ending in -il. Civil, for example, becomes civile without a doubled l.
Feminine forms ending in -gue
The adjective long forms its feminine by adding -ue after the final g:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| long | longue | long |
Use long with masculine nouns and longue with feminine nouns:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Nous préparons un long voyage. | We are planning a long trip. |
| Nous suivons une longue route. | We are following a long road. |
| J'ai écouté un long discours. | I listened to a long speech. |
| J'ai quitté une longue réunion. | I left a long meeting. |
The spelling change also affects pronunciation. The g is pronounced in longue, while it is normally silent in long.
Feminine forms ending in -che
Some adjectives have irregular feminine forms ending in -che. Their masculine forms have different endings, so there is no single spelling pattern for the group:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| frais | fraîche | fresh, cool |
| sec | sèche | dry |
| blanc | blanche | white |
| franc | franche | frank, sincere |
The change can involve both the ending and the spelling of the adjective. Frais becomes fraîche, while sec becomes sèche.
These forms agree with feminine nouns:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Le poissonnier vend du poisson frais. | The fishmonger sells fresh fish. |
| Je prépare une salade fraîche. | I am making a fresh salad. |
| Ils décrivent un climat sec. | They describe a dry climate. |
| Elle plie une serviette sèche. | She folds a dry towel. |
These feminine forms can also involve a change in pronunciation.
Feminine forms ending in -que
Some masculine adjectives ending in -c have feminine forms ending in -que. The spelling change depends on the adjective:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| grec | grecque | Greek |
| public | publique | public |
| turc | turque | Turkish |
The masculine and feminine forms agree with the noun they describe:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Nous dînons dans un restaurant grec. | We are having dinner in a Greek restaurant. |
| Ils visitent une île grecque. | They are visiting a Greek island. |
| Les enfants jouent dans un jardin public. | The children play in a public garden. |
| Les élèves entrent dans une école publique. | The students enter a public school. |
Not all adjectives ending in -c form the feminine this way. For example, blanc becomes blanche, while sec becomes sèche.
From learning to practice
When reading or listening to French, identify the noun each adjective describes and notice how the adjective changes with gender. Pay particular attention to changes in the stem, doubled consonants, accents, and feminine endings.
Practice comparing masculine and feminine descriptions with familiar nouns. Recognizing these forms will make irregular adjective agreement easier to identify and use.