The adjective

 An adjective is a word which

describes a noun or pronoun
 Different types of adjective are
classified according to the way they
describe a noun or pronoun:
(1) Descriptive (4) Demonstrative
(2) Possessive
(3) Interrogative
Which type of adjective in English?
 His book is lost
 She read an interesting book
 What book is lost?
 Our parents are away
 This teacher is excellent
 He has brown eyes
 That question is appropriate
 In English, adjectives do not change
their form, regardless of the noun or
pronoun described

 In French, adjectives change in

order to agree in gender and
number with the noun or pronoun
they modify.
 French descriptive
adjectives
 Most descriptive adjectives in
French add an –e to the masculine
form to make the feminine form and
an –s to the masculine singular or
feminine singular form to make it
plural
 French descriptive
adjectives
 Most French descriptive adjectives
come after the noun they modify
 Translate:
 She is reading an interesting book
 Paul is a handsome boy and Mary is
a pretty girl
 Review
Identify the adjectives in the sentences
below and state what type of adjective
they are:
 The young man was reading a French
newspaper
 She looked pretty in her new red dress

 It is interesting

 The old piano could still produce good

music
 Paul was tired after his long walk
 French possessive
adjectives
 A possessive adjective is a word which
describes a noun by showing who
possesses that noun.

 In English: possessive adjectives are

identified according to the person they
represent.
 A possessive adjective changes according
to the possessor, regardless of the objects
possessed.
 In French, a possessive adjective
changes according to the possessor,
but unlike English it also agrees,
like all French adjectives, in
gender and number with the
noun possessed.
 Possessive adjectives

m f (sing) plural English
(sing)
my
your
(tu)
his,
her, its
our
your
(vous)
 Possessive adjectives

m f (sing) plural English
(sing)
mon ma mes my
ton ta tes your
(tu)
son sa ses his,
her, its
notre notre nos our
votre votre vos your
(vous)
 Singular possessors
 Singular possessors:
 my, your (tu form), his, her, its
 In French, each of these possessive
adjectives has three forms
depending on the gender and
number of the noun possessed.
 Translate
 Anne reads my book
 Anne reads her book
 Paul knows my friend
 Paul reads my letter
 John looks at his mum
 Plural possessors
 Plural possessors:
 our, your (vous-form), their
 In French, each of these possessive
adjectives has only two forms,
depending on the number of the
noun possessed (i.e. whether it is
singular or plural).
 Plural possessors
 noun possessed is singular: notre,
votre, leur
 Mary is our daughter
 Paul reads your letter
 They read their letter
 Plural possessors
 Noun possessed is plural: nos,
vos, leurs
 The parents are our friends
 Anne reads your books
 They read their letters
 Interrogative adjectives
 An interrogative adjective is a word
that asks for information about a
noun.

 In English: the words which and what

are interrogative adjectives when they
come in front of a noun and are used
to ask a question about that noun.
 Interrogative adjectives
 In French, there is only one
interrogative adjective: quel
 It changes to agree in gender and
number with the noun it modifies.
 Interrogative adjectives
 Noun modified is harder to identify
when it is separated from the
interrogative adjective;
 What is your address?
 Which are his favourite books?
 Careful!
 The word ‘what’ is not always an
interrogative adjective.
 e.g. ‘What is on the table’ it is an
interrogative pronoun.
Demonstrative adjectives
 A demonstrative adjective is a word
use to point out a noun:
 This book is interesting
 In English, the demonstrative
adjectives are: this and that in the
singular and these and those in the
plural.
Demonstrative adjectives
 In French, there is only one
demonstrative adjective: ce
 It changes to agree in gender and
number with the noun it modifies.
 Therefore, in order to say ‘that book’
or ‘this dress’, start by analysing the
noun book or dress.
Demonstrative adjectives
 (1) noun modified is masculine
singular and starts with a consonant 
ce
 This (or that) book is on the table

 (2) noun modified is masculine

singular and starts with a vowel  cet
 This (or that) appartment is large
Demonstrative adjectives
 (3) noun modified is feminine
singular  cette
 This (or that) dress is pretty

 (4) noun modified is plural  ces

 These (or those) books are on the
table
Demonstrative adjectives
 To distinguish between what is close
to the speaker (this, these) from
what is far from the speaker (that,
those), -ci or -là can be added after
the noun.
 Translate the following
 These book are expensive, but those
books are not expensive.
 The beautiful gardens.
 They read their letter.
 What is your favourite city?