French grammar - Feminine adjectives - doubling the final consonant |
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As we saw, the general rule is to add -e to make a feminine adjective. But if the masculine adjective ends with an -n, -s, or -l then we double that final consonant before adding -e to make it feminine. For example: • bon ⇒ bonne - 'good' – double the -n and add an -e. • gros ⇒ grosse - 'fat' or 'big' – double the -s and add an -e. • gentil ⇒ gentille - 'nice' or 'kind' – double the -l and add an -e. |
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Le pain est très bon mais la tarte n'est pas bonne.
The bread is very good but the pie is not good.
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Est-elle gentille ?
Is she nice?
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L'enseignant est gentil et la directrice est aussi gentille.
The teacher is nice and the directress is also nice.
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Le bâtiment dans le jardin est ancien.
The building in the garden is old.
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La rue est ancienne.
The street is old.
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La music est trop basse.
The music is too low.
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La vie est cruelle.
Life is cruel.
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Le chat est gros mais heureux.
The cat is fat but happy.
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La chatte n'est pas grosse mais est aussi heureuse.
The cat (female) is not fat but is also happy.
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Le bébé est mignon et la fille est aussi mignonne.
The baby is cute and the girl is also cute.
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Julien n'est pas européen mais Veronica est européenne.
Julien is not European but Veronica is European.
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Juliette, est-elle vraiment australienne ? Non, mais David est australien.
Juliette, is she really Australian? No, but David is Australian.
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