A1.1 Agreement in the feminine

General Agreement Rules

Adjectives, nouns, and past participles must agree in gender with the noun to which they refer. To feminize a word, an -e is generally added to the end of the masculine form. If the word already ends in -e, its form does not change.

  • Un ami → une amie (A male friend → A female friend)
  • Petit → petite (Small, or short [masculine] → Small, or short [feminine])
  • Heureux → heureuse (Happy [masculine] → Happy [feminine])
  • Un petit ami heureux → une petite amie heureuse (A happy boyfriend → A happy girlfriend)

Exceptions and Special Cases

  • Adjectives ending in -eux end in -euse (e.g., heureux → heureuse).
  • Adjectives ending in -er end in -ère (e.g., cher → chère).
  • Adjectives ending in -f change to -ve (e.g., actif → active, sportif → sportive).
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