Editing French grammar (section)

==Adjectives==
An adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. French adjectives therefore have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. A few adjectives have a fifth form, viz. an additional masculine singular form for use in liaison before a noun beginning with a vowel or a "mute h", e.g. {{lang|fr|un '''beau''' jardin, un '''bel''' homme, une '''belle''' femme, de '''beaux''' enfants, de '''belles''' maisons}} (a beautiful garden, a handsome man, a beautiful woman, beautiful children, beautiful houses). This fifth form, which is older, is sometimes used elsewhere in set phrases, e.g. {{lang|fr|Philippe le '''Bel'''}} ([[Philip the Fair]] or the Handsome of France, 1268–1314) vs. {{lang|fr|Philippe le '''Beau'''}} ([[Philip the Handsome]] or the Fair of Castile, 1478–1506).

The masculine singular, an adjective's basic form, is listed in dictionaries. The feminine singular is normally formed by adding {{lang|fr|-e}} to the basic form. This {{lang|fr|-e}} is silent, which makes many masculine and feminine forms [[homophone|homophonous]] (cf. {{lang|fr|civil > civile}} 'civil', both pronounced {{IPA|/sivil/}}). However, the ending causes "mute" final sounds to be pronounced, whereby masculine-feminine pairs become distinguishable in pronunciation if the masculine form ends in a mute consonant, which is the case with a great deal of adjectives (cf. {{lang|fr|lourd}} {{IPA|[luʁ]}} > {{lang|fr|lourde}} {{IPA|[luʁd]}} 'heavy'). Under certain circumstances, other minor changes occur in the formation of feminine forms, such as the placement of an accent, the doubling of a consonant, or its replacement with another, changes that often reflect the pronunciation of such endings (cf. {{lang|fr|bon}} {{IPA|[bɔ̃]}} > {{lang|fr|bonne}} {{IPA|[bɔn]}} 'good'; {{lang|fr|heureux}} {{IPA|[øʁø]}} > {{lang|fr|heureuse}} {{IPA|[øʁøz]}} 'happy'). Irregular feminine forms include {{lang|fr|beau > belle}} 'beautiful', {{lang|fr|blanc > blanche}} 'white', and a limited number of others. If an adjective's basic form ends in {{lang|fr|-e}}, it is left unchanged in the feminine (cf. {{lang|fr|riche > riche}} 'rich').

The plural is normally formed by adding {{lang|fr|-s}} to the singular (masculine and feminine). This {{lang|fr|-s}} is usually mute, but pronounced {{IPA|[z]}} in [[liaison (French)|liaison]] with a following noun that begins with a vowel. Unlike liaison after plural nouns, liaison after plural adjectives is common and even obligatory in standard usage. If the basic form ends in {{lang|fr|-s, -x}}, or {{lang|fr|-z}}, an adjective is left unchanged in the masculine plural (cf. {{lang|fr|doux > doux}} 'soft, gentle'). A few adjectives take the (also mute) ending {{lang|fr|-x}} in the masculine plural (cf. {{lang|fr|nouveau > nouveaux}} 'new'). Plural forms that are distinguishable from the singular outside of liaison environments occur only with adjectives ending in {{lang|fr|-al}}. These normally have {{lang|fr|-aux}} in the masculine plural (cf. {{lang|fr|central}} {{IPA|[sɑ̃tʁal]}} > {{lang|fr|centraux}} {{IPA|[sɑ̃tʁo]}} 'central'). By contrast, the feminine plural is formed according to the general rule: {{lang|fr|centrale > centrales}}.

Due to the aforementioned rules, French adjectives might have four distinguished written forms which are all pronounced the same. This is the case if an adjective's masculine and feminine forms are homophonous and if there is no liaison between the adjective and a following noun.

{| class="wikitable"
|- e&771
!|
!|Written form
!|Pronunciation
!|Translation
|-
|''masc. sg.''
|{{lang|fr|un prince '''turc'''}}
|{{IPA|œ̃ pʁɛ̃s '''tyʁk'''}}
|''a Turkish prince''
|-
|''fem. sg.''
|{{lang|fr|une princesse '''turque'''}}
|{{IPA|yn pʁɛ̃sɛs '''tyʁk'''}}
|''a Turkish princess''
|-
|''masc. pl.''
|{{lang|fr|des princes '''turcs'''}}
|{{IPA|de pʁɛ̃s '''tyʁk'''}}
|''Turkish princes''
|-
|''fem. pl.''
|{{lang|fr|des princesses '''turques'''}}
|{{IPA|de pʁɛ̃sɛs '''tyʁk'''}}
|''Turkish princesses''
|}

On the other hand, if the masculine and feminine forms have different pronunciations and liaison does occur, all four forms can be distinguishable in pronunciation. Adjective declension is therefore important in spoken French, though to a lesser extent than in writing. (All forms distinguished in pronunciation are also distinguished in writing, but not vice versa.)

{| class="wikitable"
|- e&771
!|
!|Written form
!|Pronunciation
!|Translation
|-
|''masc. sg.''
|{{lang|fr|un '''grand''' empereur}}
|{{IPA|œ̃ '''ɡʁɑ̃t'''‿ɑ̃pʁœʁ}}
|''a great emperor''
|-
|''fem. sg.''
|{{lang|fr|une '''grande''' impératrice}}
|{{IPA|yn '''ɡʁɑ̃d'''‿ɛ̃peʁatʁis}}
|''a great empress''
|-
|''masc. pl.''
|{{lang|fr|de '''grands''' empereurs}}
|{{IPA|də '''ɡʁɑ̃z'''‿ɑ̃pʁœʁ}}
|''great emperors''
|-
|''fem. pl.''
|{{lang|fr|de '''grandes''' impératrices}}
|{{IPA|də '''ɡʁɑ̃dz'''‿ɛ̃peʁatʁis}}
|''great empresses''
|}

Due to the peculiar [[French orthography|orthography of French]], which denotes mute final consonants, most feminine forms seem regular in terms of their spelling because they are formed by adding {{lang|fr|-e}} to the masculine form, e.g., {{lang|fr|grand > grand'''e'''}}, {{lang|fr|lent > lent'''e'''}}, {{lang|fr|persan > persan'''e'''}}. However, if we put this etymologic orthography aside and consider only current pronunciation, the formation of French female forms becomes quite irregular with several possible "endings": {{IPA|[ɡʁɑ̃]}} > {{IPA|[ɡʁɑ̃'''d''']}}, {{IPA|[lɑ̃]}} > {{IPA|[lɑ̃'''t''']}}, {{IPA|[pɛʁsɑ̃]}} > {{IPA|[pɛʁs'''an''']}}.

Most adjectives, when used attributively, appear after their nouns: {{lang|fr|le vin '''rouge'''}} ("the ''red'' wine"). A number of adjectives (often having to do with beauty, age, goodness, or size, a tendency summarized by the acronym "BAGS"), come before their nouns: {{lang|fr|une '''belle''' femme}} ("a ''beautiful'' woman"). With a few adjectives of the latter type, there are two masculine singular forms: one used before consonants (the basic form), and one used before vowels. For example, the adjective {{lang|fr|beau}} ("beautiful") changes form from {{lang|fr|un '''beau''' garçon}} ("a ''handsome'' boy") to {{lang|fr|un '''bel''' homme}} ("a ''handsome'' man"). Some adjectives change position depending on their meaning, sometimes preceding their nouns and sometimes following them. For example, {{lang|fr|ancien}} means "former" when it precedes its noun, but "ancient" when it follows it. To give another example, {{lang|fr|un homme '''grand'''}} means "a ''tall'' man", whereas {{lang|fr|un '''grand''' homme}} means "a ''great'' man".

Many compound words contain an adjective, such as {{lang|fr|une '''belle'''-mère}} "a mother-in-law", which is distinct from {{lang|fr|une '''belle''' mère}} "a beautiful mother". Some of them use an [[archaism|archaic]] form of the feminine adjective that lacks the final {{lang|fr|-e}}. These used to be written with an apostrophe, but a hyphen is now (at least since 1960) considered more correct: {{lang|fr|une '''grand-'''route}} (formerly, {{lang|fr|une '''grand{{'}}'''route}}) "a main country road", which is distinct from {{lang|fr|une '''grande''' route}} "a long way", and {{lang|fr|une '''grand-'''mère}} (formerly, {{lang|fr|une '''grand{{'}}'''mère}}) "a grandmother", which is distinct from {{lang|fr|'''une grande''' mère}} "a tall mother".