French distinguishes between masculine and feminine nouns.
1. The most common way to form feminine nouns is to add the ending -e to a masculine noun, for example:
- un Anglais - Englishman, une Anglaise - Englishwoman;
- un voisin - neighbor, une voisine - neighbor;
- un serveur - waiter, une serveuse - waitress.
2. Nouns ending in mute - e, do not change in the feminine, for example:
- un violoniste - violinist, une violoniste - violinist;
- un complice - accomplice, une complice - accomplice;
- un réaliste - realist, une réaliste - realist.
3. Nouns ending in -er in the masculine gender end in the feminine gender -ère, for example:
- le banquier - banker (bank employee), la banquière - bank employee;
- le cuisinier - cook, la cuisinière - cook;
- le couturier - tailor, la couturière - seamstress.
4. If a masculine noun ends in a nasal vowel, then when forming a feminine gender, a dumb -e is added, and the ending loses its nasal sound.
- un copain - friend, une copine - friend;
- un amant - lover, une amante - mistress.
5. When a feminine noun is formed from a masculine noun that ends in -en, -ien, -on, as well as in the word paysan, a dumb -e is added. In this case, -n is doubled, for example:
- le végétarien - vegetarian, la végétarienne - vegetarian;
- le chien - dog, la chienne - dog;
- le paysan - peasant, la paysanne - peasant woman.
6. If a feminine noun is formed from a masculine noun that ends in -f, then the dumb -e is added, and the ending changes -v. The vowel before the ending becomes long, for example:
- le actif - activist, la active - activist.
gender of adjectives
In French, adjectives can be masculine or feminine.
1. One way to form a feminine adjective is to add -e to a masculine adjective, for example:
- fort - strong, forte - strong;
- principal - main, principale - main;
- capital - main, capitale - main.
2. If a feminine adjective is formed from a masculine adjective that ends in -c (pronounced), then in the feminine adjective the ending will change to -que, for example:
- public - public, publique - public.
But if the ending -c is mute, then the feminine adjective gets the ending -che, for example:
- blanc - white, blanche - white.
3. If a masculine adjective ends in -f, then when a feminine adjective is formed, it ends in -ve:
- neuf - new, neuve - new.
4. If the masculine adjective ends in -g, then in the feminine it goes into the ending -gue:
- long - long, longue - long.
5. Adjectives in the masculine ending -al, when formed in the feminine gender, receive the ending -ale, for example:
- amical - friendly, amicale - friendly.
6. The ending of masculine adjectives -el forms -elle when changing to feminine. Also, -ul becomes -ulle, but the pronunciation remains the same:
- cruel - cruel, cruelle - cruel.
7. If the adjective ends in -eil, then when it is feminine, it gets the ending -eille, but the pronunciation does not change, for example:
- pareil - similar, pareille - similar.
8. If in the masculine the adjective has the ending -il, then in the feminine it takes on the ending -ile, for example:
- civil - civil, civile - civil.
9. The ending -n in the formation of the feminine becomes -ne, but adjectives ending in -on change the ending to -onne, for example:
- fin - thin, fine - thin.
The exception is: paysan - peasant, paysanne - peasant.
10. The ending -ien becomes feminine in the ending -ienne:
- Italien - Italian, Italienne - Italian.
11. If the masculine adjective has a mute ending -er, then in the feminine add -e and the sign "`":
- premier - first, première - first.
12. The ending -eur changes to -euse, for example:
- rieur - funny, rieuse - funny.
13. The ending -teur in the masculine gender changes to -touse in the feminine, if it is formed from a verb that has -t in the infinitive before the ending, for example:
- flotteur - floating, flottouse - floating.
14. The remaining adjectives with the ending -teur in the masculine gender, which are not formed from verbs with -t in the root, receive the ending - trice:
- protecteur - protective, protectrice - protective.
13. The ending -s changes to the ending -se, for example: gris - gray, grise - gray. Exceptions to this rule are:
- frais - fresh, fraiche - fresh;
- tiers - third, tierce - third.
15. When forming the feminine, some adjectives double -s, such as:
- gros - thick, grosse - thick;
- gras - fat, grasse - fat;
- las - tired, lasse - tired;
- métis - mixed, métisse - mixed;
- exprès - decisive, expresse - decisive;
- épais - thick, épaisse - thick;
- profès - vowed, professe - vowed.
- bas - low, basse - low.
16. Masculine adjectives ending in -et become feminine in the ending -ette:
- coquet - charming, coquette - charming.
There are ten adjectives that end in -et but end in -ète in the feminine, as follows:
- complet - filled, complète - filled;
- concret - specific, concrète - specific;
- secret - secret, secrete - secret;
- incomplèt - incomplete, incomplète - incomplete;
- indiscret - immodest, indiscrète - immodest;
- inquiet - restless, inquiète - restless;
- désuet - outdated, désuète - outdated;
- discret - modest, discrète - modest;
- quiet - calm, quiète calm;
- replet - portly, replète - portly.
Adjectives in French are an integral part of a sentence that allows you to define an object, its properties and characteristics. They change in gender, number, degree of comparison, which are consistent with the gender and number of the noun to which they refer. In French, unlike Russian, there are only 2 genders - masculine and feminine (in Russian there is a middle gender). The feminine gender is formed by adding the ending -e to the adjective. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the pronunciation may remain unchanged if this ending is added to vowels or to pronounced consonants, as well as consonants -r and -l, for example, lumière (f - female) noire - black light, point (m - m.r.) noir - a dangerous place, or change if the ending is added to an unpronounceable consonant, for example, un grand personnage - a noble person, une grande nouvelle - important news, les grandes dates - important dates.
If the endings -e, -able, -aire, -ique, -iste, etc., are present in the masculine gender, the form of the adjective in the feminine gender remains unchanged, for example: activité économique (female) - economic activity, délit économique (m .r.) - an economic offense; poisson rouge (m.r.) - red fish, une tomate (f.r.) rouge - red tomato.
When using adjectives in French, if the forms of the adjective are masculine from feminine, the following rules must be followed:
- 1. If the masculine adjective ends in a voiceless consonant -s, then it becomes voiced in the feminine, for example, le livre français - French book, histoire française - French history.
- 2. If the masculine adjective ends in -en, -ien, -on, -et, the consonant is doubled, to which the ending -e will be added, for example, ancien professeur - former teacher, ancienne cour - former court. However, there are a number of exceptions to this rule, which are listed below:
complete - complete; filled; finished: gel complet - complete freezing, ruine complète - complete ruin (zh.r.).
concret - specific: but concret - a specific goal, musique concrète - specific music (female).
inquiet - worried, un homme inquiet - worried man, une femme inquiète - worried woman (female).
secret secret: service secret - secret service, issue secrète - secret exit.
- 3. If the masculine adjective ends in the consonant -f, then this ending becomes feminine in -ve, for example, pensée neuve - fresh thought (female), costume neuf - new costume.
- 4. If the masculine adjective ends in -er, -ier, these endings are taken in the feminine accent grave over -е, for example, investissement étranger - foreign investment, affaire étrangère - foreign business.
- 5. If the masculine adjective ends in -eux, this ending goes into -euse in the feminine, for example, air heureux is a joyful look, heureuse expression is a successful expression (female).
- 6. If the adjective in the masculine ends in -iel, -el, the letter -l in the feminine is doubled, for example, center industriel - industrial center, psychologie industrielle - engineering psychology (female).
Certain adjectives in French do not fit more than one rule, and their masculine and feminine forms must be remembered:
bas– basse– low (th),
blanc - blanche - white (th),
beau - belle - beautiful (th),
frais - fraiche - fresh (th),
franc– franche– frank,
gros- grosse- thick (th),
long - longue - long (th),
nouveau– nouvelle– new (th),
pais - paisse - thick (th),
sec– sèche– dry (th),
doux - douce - sweet.
As is known, adjective- this is a part of speech denoting the quality, property or belonging of an object and answers the questions “what?”, “what?”, “what?”, “what?” or "whose?"
In French, adjectives change by gender and number, that is, they depend on the noun they refer to.
Rules for using adjectives
An adjective can be used without a noun and be part of a compound nominal predicate, for example: Il est petit- It is small. In this case, the adjective agrees with the subject in gender and number: il is a masculine and singular pronoun. If there is a pronoun or a feminine noun in place of the subject, then the ending will be added to the adjective "e": Elle est petite.- She's small.
However, it must be remembered that some masculine adjectives already end with the letter "e", this means that they do not change by birth. There are few such adjectives, they need to be remembered:
rouge- red
jaune- yellow
Jeune- young
beige- beige
triste- sad
rose- pink
Some masculine adjectives after adding a vowel "e", the final consonant is doubled. This happens with adjectives that have the following endings:
1. -en/-enne: europeen – europeenne(European, -th)
2.-ien/-ien: italien – italienne(Italian, th)
3.-on/-onne: mignon–mignonne(cute, th)
4.-as/-asse: bas-basse(low, -th)
5.-os/-osse: gros-grosse(large, -th)
6.-el/-elle: habituel – habituelle(regular, -th)
7.-eil/-eille: pareil - pareille(similar, -th)
8.-et/-ette: cadet - cadet(younger, -th)
This rule has exceptions. Remember the following words:
complete - complete(filled, -th)
concret-concrete(specific, -th)
discret– discrete(modest, th)
inquiet - inquiet(restless, th)
secret - secret(secret, -th)
Adjectives that end in -eux or -eur in the masculine form change to –euse: courageux - courageuse (brave, th). A similar rule applies to adjectives with the ending -teur: feminine adjectives in this case receive the endings -trice/-teuse: menteur - menteuse (lying, th). And the adjectives -f in the feminine get the ending -ve, for example: sportif - sportive.
If the masculine adjective ends in -er, then in the feminine it has an ending -here: fier - fière (proud -th), and the ending -With is changing -que: turc - turque (Turkish, th).
Some adjectives change their forms irregularly. Try to remember:
vieux-vieille(old, -th)
gentil – gentille(cute, th)
blanc – blanche(white, -th)
frais–fraîche(fresh, -th)
franc - franche(freestyle, th)
sec-seche(dry, -th)
doux-douce(gentle, th)
long-longue(long, -th)
favori – favorite(favorite, th)
Interestingly, some adjectives have two masculine forms.
adjectives beau, nouveau, vieux have two singular masculine forms: Forms beau, nouveau, vieux used before nouns beginning with a consonant: un nouveau café- a new cafe.
Forms bel, nouvel, vieil used before nouns that begin with a vowel or silent h, For example: un viel ami- old friend.
In the feminine form, these adjectives use one form: belle, nouvelle, vieille.
Tasks for the lesson
Exercise 1. Form feminine adjectives.
1. conservateur 2. jeune 3. noir 4. doux 5. sérieux 6. joli 7. actif 8. beau 9. ancien 10. muet
Answer 1.
1. conservatrice 2. jeune 3. noire 4. douce 5. sérieuse 6. jolie 7. active 8. belle 9. ancienne 10. muette
French distinguishes between masculine and feminine adjectives. There are such ways of forming the feminine gender:
1)
Added - e to
masculine gender which is in the singular. For example: petit - petite, gris - grise.
2)
If the adjective is masculine
ends:
C (which is pronounced in speech) feminine ending
will be que. For example: public - publique.
C (which
not pronounced in speech) in the feminine will have the ending che. For example: blanc-blanche.
3) If the adjective is masculine
genus ends in -f then in when
in feminine education, it changes to -
ve. For example: neuf - neuve.
4) The ending g in the masculine turns into gue in the feminine. For example: long - longue.
5) The ending al changes to ale
and at the same time l is not
doubles. For example: amical-amicale.
6) The ending of the masculine gender el in the feminine forms elle, and also ul goes into ulle and when
this does not change the pronunciation. For example: cruel - cruelle, nul - nulle.
7) If the word ends in eil, then when it becomes feminine, it acquires the ending eille, and the pronunciation remains the same. For example: pareil-pareille.
8) In the masculine il, then in the feminine ile. In this case, the doubling of l does not occur. For example: civil - civile.
9) The ending n becomes feminine ne, and words that end in on get the ending onne.
For example: fin
- fine, bon - bonne. Available
and an exception: paysan - paysanne.
10) The ending ien is converted to ienne. For example: Italian -Italienne.
11) When the adjective is standing
in the masculine gender it has an unpronounceable ending er then for the formation of the feminine gender
add e and the "`" sign. For example: premier-
premiere.
12) The ending eur changes to euse, and teur to touse (if
is an adjective derived from a verb that has a t before the ending in the infinitive). For example: rieur-rieuse, flotter (verb) - flotteur(
masculine adjective) - flottouse (feminine). All
other adjectives formed not from a verb with t in the root are formed in the following way: teur - trice. For example: protecteur
- protectrice.
13) Some adjectives
of Latin origin having a masculine ending eur forms eure. For example: anténeur - anténeure.
14) s changes to se gris-grise. There are exceptions: frais -
fraiche, tiers - tierce.
15) Several adjectives double s: gros - grosse, gras -
grasse, las - lasse, métis - métisse, expres
-expresse, épais - épaisse, profes - professe, bas - basse.
16) Masculine et in feminine ette. For example:
coquet - coquette. There are ten adjectives that
end in et - ète: complete-
complète, concret - concrète, secret - secret, incomplete - incomplète, indiseret - indiserète, inquiet - inquiète, désuet -
desuète, discret - discrete,
quiet-
quiète, replete - replete.
17) In the masculine ot in the feminine ote. For example: idiot-idiote. There are words in which t doubles: sot -sotte, boulot -doulotte, vieillot - vieillotte.
18) The ending of the masculine gender eux in the feminine euse and oux - ouse. For example: jaloux - jalouse.
Exception words: beau
- belle, jumeau -jumelle, mou - molle, vieux - vieille, nouveau - nouvelle.
The general rule is that the feminine form of adjectives in French is formed by adding "e" to the masculine form: un cahier bleu - une cravate bleue.
If the original form of the adjective in the masculine gender ends in "e", there is no change: un livre utile - une chose utile.
To form the feminine form, French adjectives can double the final consonant of the masculine form. The following cases are distinguished:
1. doubling "l" in adjectives ending in -el, -eil: un homme cruel - une loi cruelle, un sentiment pareil - une faiblesse pareille
The same happens in the words nul and gentil: une copie nulle, une manière gentille
2. doubling "n" in adjectives with -en, -on: une route aérienne, une fille bretonne
All other "n" adjectives (-an, -in, -ain, -ein, -un), except for "paysan", do NOT double the final vowel: la langue persane, une pièce voisine, une voix hautaine, une collection pleine, une chambre commune
But: la communauté paysanne
3. doubling "t" in adjectives to -et: une robe coquette
Attention: the final consonant "t" in the feminine gender is NOT doubled:
A. all other adjectives ending in (-ot, -at): une réponse idiote, une situation délicate
b. the following exceptions:
complete - complete
secret - secret
inquiet - inquiet
desuet - desuete
discret-discrete
concret - concrete
replet - replete
incomplete - incomplete
Many adjectives in the formation of the feminine gender, in addition to adding "e", simultaneously undergo a replacement of the final vowel form of the masculine gender:
a. f - v: naïf - naïve, bref - brève
b. x - s: adjectives in -eux and the adjective "jaloux": heureux - heureuse, jaloux - jalouse
x - ss: faux - fausse, roux - rousse
x - c: doux - douce
With. s-c: tiers-tierce
s-ch: frais-fraîche
d. c - ch: blanc - blanche, sec - sèche
c - qu: franc - franque, public - publique, caduc - caduque, ammoniac - ammoniaque, turc - turque
Attention: grec - grecque
d. n - gn: benin - bénigne, malin - maligne
The feminine form of adjectives in French can be formed without regard to any rule:
favori - favorite
rigolo - rigolote
esquimau - esquimaude
andalou - andalouse
Adjectives in -er, -ier have an orthographic feature in the feminine gender: they acquire the so-called. accent grave over "è": léger - légère, dernier - dernière.
Some adjectives in the formation of the feminine gender undergo changes in the original form:
nouveau - nouvelle
jumeau - jumelle
vieux - vieille
Formation of feminine adjectives in -eur:
If such an adjective is formed from an existing verb, then the suffix "euse" will be in the feminine gender. For example: menteur - menteuse (derived from the verb mentir)
Exceptions:
enchanteur - enchantresse
detecteur - detective
