The passé composé of certain French verbs uses the present tense form of être as helping verb. You need to add the past participle of the verb you want to use in the past tense. Do not confuse verbs that use être with action verbs. Many action verbs use avoir as helping verb. Most of these verbs express a change of place, state, or condition. Reflexive verbs also use être as a helping verb.
👉 Scroll down to watch my video lesson on this grammar topic and for teacher resources 👈
Listen to the dictée while watching the video below. Download your free support guide which indicates all of the grammar topics included as well as the correction and English translation @LLL French Academy.
There are two main factors to consider when using adjectives in French, and they are very different to the way we use adjectives in English. Scroll all the way down if you just want a quick list of 40 very easy to use French adjectives.
French adjectives must agree in number and in gender with the person, place or thing that they are describing.
Most of the time you need to place the adjective AFTER the noun it is describing.
The final consonant in masculine adjectives is usually silent, and usually pronounced in feminine ones.
There are two main factors to consider when using adjectives in French, and they are very different to the way we use adjectives in English. Scroll all the way down if you just want a quick list of 40 very easy to use French adjectives.
French adjectives must agree in number and in gender with the person, place or thing that they are describing.
Most of the time you must place the adjective AFTER the noun it is describing.
The final consonant in masculine adjectives is usually silent and usually pronounced in feminine ones.
Most of the time you add an E to a masculine adjective to make it feminine, and you add an S to make it plural. Exceptions follow.
masculine
singular
masculine
plural
feminine
singular
feminine
plural
bleu
blue
bleu
C’est un stylo bleu.
bleus
Ce sont des stylos bleus.
bleue
C’est une voiture bleue.
bleues
Ce sont des voitures bleues.
amusant
funny / fun
amusant
C’est un garçon amusant.
amusants Ce sont des garçons amusants.
amusante
C’est une fille amusante.
amusantes
Ce sont des filles amusantes.
salé
salty
salé C’est un plat salé.
salés Ce sont des plats salés.
salée C’est une tarte salée.
salées Ce sont des tartes salées.
Sometimes the masculine form of the adjective already ends in E. When this is the case there is no difference in the masculine and feminine forms.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
timide shy
timide C’est un garçon timide.
timides Ce sont des garçons timides.
timide C’est une fille timide.
timides Ce sont des filles timides.
Other common regular French adjectives
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
warm
chaud
chauds
chaude
chaudes
short
court
courts
courte
courtes
right
droit
droits
droite
droites
strong
fort
forts
forte
fortes
cold
froid
froids
froide
froides
gray
gris
gris
grise
grises
high
haut
hauts
haute
hautes
ugly
laid
laids
laide
laides
heavy
lourd
lourds
lourde
lourdes
evil
mauvais
mauvais
mauvaise
mauvaises
perfect
parfait
parfaits
parfaite
parfaites
small
petit
petits
petite
petites
deaf
sourd
sourds
sourde
sourdes
amusing
amusant
amusants
amusante
amusantes
content
content
contents
contente
contentes
big
grand
grands
grande
grandes
intelligent
intelligent
intelligents
intelligente
intelligentes
interesting
intéressant
intéressants
intéressante
intéressantes
mean
méchant
méchants
méchante
méchantes
slow
lent
lents
lente
lentes
full
plein
pleins
pleine
pleines
next
prochain
prochains
prochaine
prochaines
powerful
puissant
puissants
puissante
puissantes
blue
bleu
bleus
bleue
bleues
clear
clair
clairs
claire
claires
complicated
compliqué
compliqués
compliquée
compliquées
sorry
désolé
désolés
désolée
désolées
hard
dur
durs
dure
dures
equal
égal
égals
égale
égales
tired
fatigué
fatigués
fatiguée
fatiguées
happy
gai
gais
gaie
gaies
pretty
joli
jolis
jolie
jolies
black
noir
noirs
noire
noires
polite
poli
polis
polie
polies
sure
sûr
sûrs
sûre
sûres
Some French adjectives come before the noun they describe: BAGS = Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size
When an adjective falls into the BAGS category you need to put it in front of the nouns that it describes.
Beauty
beau
C’est un beau chien.
That’s a beautiful dog.
Age
vieux
C’est un vieux monsieur.
He’s an old man.
Good or Bad
bon
C’est un bon gâteau.
This is a good cake.
Size
grand
C’est un grand garçon.
He’s a tall boy.
Other common French adjectives that are placed before the noun
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
young
jeune
jeunes
jeune
jeunes
little, small, short
petit
petits
petite
petites
bad
mauvais
mauvais
mauvaise
mauvaises
best
meilleur
meilleurs
meilleure
meilleures
false, fake
faux
faux
fausse
fausses
big, fat
gros
gros
grosse
grosses
high
haut
hauts
haute
hautes
pretty
joli
jolis
jolie
jolies
new
nouveau
nouveaux
nouvelle
nouvelles
Sometimes the masculine form of the adjective ends in S or X. When this is the case there is no difference in the masculine singular and plural forms.
The following example uses an adjective that falls into the BAGS category, so it is placed before the noun that it describes.
Note that when the adjective comes BEFORE the noun, DES must change to DE. This is an exception in the French language.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
gros big
gros C’est un gros chien.
gros Ce sont de gros chiens.
grosse C’est une grosse voiture.
grosses Ce sont de grosses voitures.
Irregular adjectives
Most adjectives are formed as you see in the examples above. However, many French adjectives are irregular.
Adjectives that end in a VOWEL + L
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
personnel personal
personnel C’est un problème personnel.
personnels Ce sont des problèmes personnels.
personnelle C’est une histoire personnelle.
personnelles Ce sont des histoires personnelles.
cruel cruel
cruel Ce professeur est cruel.
cruels Ces gens sont cruels.
cruelle C’est une femme cruelle.
cruelles Ce sont des femmes cruelles.
Adjectives that end in a VOWEL + N
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the N and adding an E. The adjective in the following example falls into the BAGS category.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
bon good
bon C’est un bon restaurant.
bons Ce sont de bons restaurants.
bonne C’est une bonne idée.
bonnes Ce sont de bonnes idées.
Other common French adjectives that end in a VOWEL + N
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
ancient, old
ancien
anciens
ancienne
anciennes
Christian
chrétien
chrétiens
chrétienne
chrétiennes
European
européen
européens
européenne
européenne
Italian
italien
italiens
italienne
italiennes
middle
moyen
moyens
moyenne
moyennes
Parisian
parisien
parisiens
parisienne
parisiennes
rural
paysan
paysans
paysanne
paysannes
Adjectives that end in ER or ET
Make these adjectives feminine by adding an ACCENT GRAVE.
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
léger light
léger C’est un repas léger.
légers Ce sont des repas légers.
légère C’est une table légère.
légères Ce sont des tables légères.
complet full
complet Le bus est complet.
complets Les bus sont complets.
complète La liste est complète.
complètes Les listes sont complètes.
Other common French adjectives that end in ER
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
bitter
amer
amers
amère
amères
expensive, dear
cher
chers
chère
chères
last
dernier
derniers
dernière
dernières
entire, whole
entier
entiers
entière
entières
foreign
étranger
étrangers
étrangère
étrangères
proud
fier
fiers
fière
fières
first
premier
premiers
première
premières
Other common French adjectives that end in ET
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
concrete
concret
concrets
concrète
concrètes
discreet
discret
discrets
discrète
discrètes
uneasy, worried
inquiet
inquiets
inquiète
inquiètes
secret
secret
secrets
secrète
secrètes
Adjectives that end in C
Make the adjective feminine by adding HE to the end
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
franc frank / honest
franc C’est un homme très franc.
francs Ce sont des hommes très francs.
franche C’est une femme très franche.
franches Ce sont des femmes très franches.
Other common French adjectives that end in C
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
white
blanc
blancs
blanche
blanches
dry
sec
secs
sèche
sèches
Adjectives that end in EUR
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the R and adding SE. The following adjective falls into the BAGS category.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
meilleur best
meilleur C’est mon meilleur ami.
meilleurs Ce sont mes meilleurs amis.
meilleure C’est ma meilleure amie.
meilleures Ce sont mes meilleures amies.
Other common French adjectives that end in EUR and that follow this pattern
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
anterior
antérieur
antérieurs
antérieure
antérieures
posterior
postérieur
postérieurs
postérieure
postérieures
exterior
extérieur
extérieurs
extérieure
extérieures
interior
intérieur
intérieurs
intérieure
intérieures
inferior
inférieur
inférieurs
inférieure
inférieures
superior
supérieur
supérieurs
supérieure
supérieures
major
majeur
majeurs
majeure
majeures
minor
mineur
mineurs
mineure
mineures
best
meilleur
meilleurs
meilleure
meilleures
Adjectives that end in TEUR
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the EUR and adding RICE
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
conservateur conservative
conservateur C’est un parti politique conservateur.
conservateurs Ce sont des partis politiques conservateurs.
conservatrice C’est une femme politique conservatrice.
conservatrices Ce sont des femmes politiques conservatrices.
Other common French adjectives that end in TEUR
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
acting
acteur
acteurs
actrice
actrices
creative
créateur
créateurs
créatrice
créatrices
protective
protecteur
protecteurs
protectrice
protectrices
Adjectives that end in EUX
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the X and adding SE. Note that the masculine singular and plural forms are the same.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
heureux happy
heureux Il est heureux.
heureux Ils sont heureux.
heureuse Elle est heureuse.
heureuses Elles sont heureuses.
Other common French adjectives that end in EUX
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
in love
amoureux
amoureux
amoureuse
amoureuses
courageous
courageux
courageux
courageuse
courageuses
curious
curieux
curieux
curieuse
curieuses
boring
ennuyeux
ennuyeux
ennuyeuse
ennuyeuses
furious
furieux
furieux
furieuse
furieuses
jealous
jaloux
jaloux
jalouse
jalouses
marvelous
merveilleux
merveilleux
merveilleuse
merveilleuses
fearful
peureux
peureux
peureuse
peureuses
serious
sérieux
sérieux
sérieuse
sérieuses
Adjectives that end in F
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the F and adding VE.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
actif active
actif C’est un enfant actif.
actifs Ce sont des enfants actifs.
active C’est une petite fille active.
actives Ce sont de petites filles actives.
Other common French adjectives that end in F
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
active
brief
bref
brefs
brève
brèves
destructive
déstructif
déstructifs
déstructive
déstructives
new
neuf
neufs
neuve
neuves
alive, bright
vif
vifs
vive
vives
Irregular plural adjectives
When an adjective ends in AL in the masculine form you must change the AL to AUX in the masculine plural. Note that the feminine singular and plural forms follow the normal rules.
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
👉 Watch my video lesson on the French verb FALLOIR.
👉 Take the quiz at the end of the lesson to see how you can avoid using the subjunctive.
The verb falloir is an impersonal verb. You can only use it in the il form. In this lesson we will focus on the present tense, but you can use this verb in many other tenses.
👉 Il faut manger pour vivre et non vivre pour manger.
IL FAUT + INFINITIVE
You must eat to live and not live to eat.
👉 Il faut commencer maintenant.
We need to start now.
FALLOIR = AVOIR BESOIN DE
You can still use the verbs devoir and avoir besoin de to mean must or need, but you’ll sound much more French if you use falloir!
When you use the verb falloir with the indirect object pronouns ME – TE – LUI – NOUS – VOUS – LEUR you can totally avoid the subjunctive by following them up with an infinitive. Just remember when translating sentences to English, il will not be the first word you translate. The first translated word will be the pronoun. English and French are just different that way. Look at the following examples.
👉 Il me faut un nouvel appartement. 👉 I need a new apartment.
👉 Il te faut des oeufs? 👉 Do you need eggs?
👉 Il lui faut son maillot de bain. 👉 He / She needs his / her swimsuit.
👉 Il lui faut ses baskets. 👉 He / She needs his / her sports shoes.
👉 Il nous faut une grande voiture. 👉 We need a big car.
👉 Il vous faut trois euros. 👉 You need three euros.
→ Watch my video lesson on the French verb FALLOIR.
→ Take the quiz at the end of the video to see how you can avoid using the subjunctive.
The verb FALLOIR is an IMPERSONAL verb. You can only use it in the IL form. In this lesson we will focus on the present tense, but you can use this verb in many other tenses.
1. Il faut un passeport pour voyager à l’étranger.
IL FAUT + NOUN
You need a passport to travel abroad.
2. Il faut manger pour vivre et non vivre pour manger.
IL FAUT + INFINITIVE
You must eat to live and not live to eat.
3. Il faut commencer maintenant.
IL FAUT + INFINITIVEWe need to start now.
Falloir = Avoir besoin de
You can still use the verbs DEVOIR and AVOIR BESOIN DE to mean MUST or NEED, but you’ll sound much more French if you use FALLOIR!
When you use the verb FALLOIR with the indirect object pronouns ME – TE – LUI – NOUS – VOUS – LEUR you can totally avoid the subjunctive by following them up with an INFINITIVE.. Just remember when translating sentences to English, IL will not be the first word you translate. It will be the pronoun. English and French are just different that way. Look at the following examples.
1. Il me faut un nouvel appartement. I need a new apartment.
2. Il te faut des oeufs? Do you need eggs?
3. Il lui faut son maillot de bain. He / She needs his / her swimsuit.
4. Il lui faut ses baskets. He / She needs his / her sports shoes.
5. Il nous faut une grande voiture. We need a big car.
6. Il vous faut trois euros. You need three euros.
The subjunctive is rumored to be the most difficult thing in French, but it’s not true. Watch the video lesson and follow along reading the text below. I will not teach every exception in this lesson. Let’s keep it simple for now.
Watch my video lesson on the French subjunctive. Take the quiz at the end of the video. See the exercise at the bottom of this page, and I’ll tell you the answers during the video.
👉 When and why do we use the subjunctive in French?
👉 How do you form the subjunctive?
👉 Examples using the subjunctive in meaningful context.
French Subjunctive
The present French subjunctive refers to actions in the present or future.
Use the subjunctive when the sentence contains a dependent and a main clause.
The dependent and main clauses are connected by the word QUE.
One of the clauses will demonstrate a WEIRDO condition.
If what follows QUE is subjective in nature, you must use the subjunctive.
What do sentences with main and dependent clauses connected by QUE look like? Here are some examples from my video lesson (scroll down to watch it).
Wishing / Wanting
Je voudrais que tu finisses tes devoirs.
Je voudrais means I would like, so it demonstrates wanting.
The Je voudrais and the tu finisses tes devoirs are connected by QUE.
Just because I want THAT you finish your homework doesn’t mean you’re actually going to do it.
Emotions
Je suis triste qu’elle ne vienne pas.
Je suis triste means I am sad, so it demonstrates an emotion.
The Je suis triste and the elle ne vienne pas are connected by QUE.
I am sad THAT she’s not coming.
So why use the subjunctive here? There’s not really a doubt associated with she’s not coming, but anytime you’re dealing with emotion you do have to use the subjunctive.
Impersonal expressions
Il est important que nous répondions à toutes les questions.
Il est important means It is important, so that’s an impersonal expression.
The Il est important and the nous répondions à toutes les questions are connected by QUE.
It is importantTHATwe respond to all of the questions, but just because it’s important doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen. Right?
Requests / Requirements / Recommendations
Je suggère que vous arriviez un peu en avance.
Je suggère means I suggest, so that’s a recommendation.
Je suggère and the vous arriviez un peu en avance are joined by QUE.
Just because I suggest THAT you arrive a little early doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
Il faut means It is necessary, so that’s a demand.
You can easily use Il faut followed by an infinitive and avoid the subjunctive altogether, but many times you’ll want to say Il faut que followed by another clause that begins with a subject.
In this example Il faut and je mette la table are joined by QUE.
Just because It is necessary THAT I set the table doesn’t mean I’ll do it.
Opinions
Je ne crois pas que ce soit une bonne idée.
Je ne crois pas means I don’t believe, so that demonstrates an Opinion.
The Je ne crois pas and the ce soit une bonne idée are connected by QUE.
Just because I don’t believe THAT it is a good idea doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not.
How to Form the Present French Subjunctive
Before doing some exercises together I will show you how to form the subjunctive. There are just a few irregular verbs to learn. As you may have guessed, the irregular verbs are the ones we use all the time.
French possessive pronouns are used to replace nouns so that you can indicate to whom or to what those nouns belong. Watch my video lesson below or click here to see it on YouTube.
