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French I - Adjectives

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    Study Guide French I – Adjectives 1. Adjective Placement within Sentences In French, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. However, some adjectives appear before the noun . 1. Most Adjectives Come After the Noun This is the standard rule in French. Structure: noun + adjective Examples: • la maison blanche → the white house • une voiture rouge → a red car • un livre intéressant → an interesting book 2. Adjectives That Come Before the Noun (BAGS Rule) Some short, common adjectives usually come before the noun . These are remembered with the acronym BAGS . Category Examples Beauty beau, joli

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    Study Guide Age nouveau, vieux, jeune Goodness bon, mauvais, gentil Size grand, petit, gros, long, court Examples • une jolie robe → a pretty dress • un gros livre → a thick book • un grand chien → a big dog 3. Other Adjectives That Come Before the Noun Some adjectives also precede the noun even though they are not part of BAGS. Adjective Meaning autre other chaque each / every dernier last plusieurs several quelques a few tel such tout all / whole

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    Study Guide Examples: • une autre histoire → another story • plusieurs idées → several ideas • une telle aventure → such an adventure 4. Using tout tout comes before both the noun and the article . Examples: • tous les hommes → all the men • toutes les femmes → all the women 5. Using Multiple Adjectives When a noun has two adjectives , place each adjective according to its rule. Examples • une petite voiture rouge → a small red car • un grand et mauvais loup → a big bad wolf • une femme forte et athlétique → a strong, athletic woman If two adjectives are in the same position , they are connected with et (and) .

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    Study Guide 6. Past Participles as Adjectives Past participles can also act as adjectives and must agree in gender and number with the noun . Examples: • un plaisir inattendu → an unexpected pleasure • cette table est réservée → this table is reserved 7. Irregular Plural Adjectives Some adjectives change in special ways.

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    Study Guide Singular Plural beau / bel beaux nouveau / nouvel nouveaux vieux / vieil vieux Examples: • un beau garçon → de beaux garçons • un nouvel hôtel → de nouveaux hôtels • un vieil artiste → de vieux artistes Key Takeaway • Most adjectives come after the noun . • BAGS adjectives come before the noun . • Some common adjectives like autre, chaque, plusieurs also come before. • Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun. 2. Changing Masculine Adjectives to Feminine In French, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in: • Gender (masculine / feminine) • Number (singular / plural) Example: • un garçon intelligent → a smart boy • une fille intelligente → a smart girl The adjective changes to match the noun.

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    Study Guide

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    Study Guide 1. Most Common Rule Most adjectives form the feminine by adding - e . Masculine Feminine Meaning petit petite small grand grande big poli polie polite ouvert ouverte open

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