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French - Future Tenses, Preceding and Plural Adjectives, Adjectives: Feminine |
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Future Tenses
The futur simple expresses an action that will take place. The futur antérieur expresses an action that will have taken place before another future action. The future tense is used just like it is in English, however, in French, the future is always used after quand or lorsque (when), dès que or aussitôt que (as soon as) and tant que (as long as.)
To form the future tense, use the infinitive and add these endings that resemble those of avoir. However, you drop the -e from -re verbs.
And of course, there has to be exceptions. Here are the irregular stems for the future tense
(these will also be used in the conditional tense):
Irregular Stems
| aller |
ir- |
|
pleuvoir |
pleuvr- |
| avoir |
aur- |
|
pouvoir |
pourr- |
| courir |
courr- |
|
recevoir |
recevr- |
| devoir |
devr- |
|
savoir |
saur- |
| envoyer |
enverr- |
|
tenir |
tiendr- |
| être |
ser- |
|
valoir |
vaudr- |
| faire |
fer- |
|
venir |
viendr- |
| falloir |
faudr- |
|
voir |
verr- |
| mourir |
mourr- |
|
vouloir |
voudr- |
Other exceptions: For appeler and jeter, double the consonant. For nettoyer and payer, change the y to i. For acheter, add an accent grave. For préférer, the accents all remain the same.
| jeter |
|
payer |
|
acheter |
|
préférer |
| jetterai |
jetterons |
|
paierai |
paierons |
|
achèterai |
achèterons |
|
préférai |
préférons |
| jetteras |
jetterez |
|
paieras |
paierez |
|
achèteras |
achèterez |
|
préféras |
préférez |
| jettera |
jetteront |
|
paiera |
paieront |
|
achètera |
achèteront |
|
préféra |
préféront |
To form the futur antérieur, use the future of either avoir or être (whichever the main verb takes) and the past participle of the main verb.
Quand ils reviendront, ils auront changé. When they come back, they will have changed.
Dès qu'ils seront revenus, ils voudront repartir. As soon as they have returned, they will want to leave again.
Preceding and Plural Adjectives
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
| Adjective |
Singular |
Plural |
Pronunciation |
Singular |
Plural |
Pronunciation |
| beautiful |
beau (bel) |
beaux |
boh (bell) |
belle |
belles |
bell |
| good |
bon |
bons |
bon |
bonne |
bonnes |
bon |
| dear |
cher |
chers |
share |
chère |
chères |
share |
| nice |
gentil |
gentils |
zhawn-tee |
gentille |
gentilles |
zhawn-tee |
| big |
grand |
grands |
grawn |
grande |
grandes |
grawnd |
| large |
gros |
gros |
groh |
grosse |
grosses |
grohss |
| young |
jeune |
jeunes |
zhun |
jeune |
jeunes |
zhun |
| pretty |
joli |
jolis |
zho-lee |
jolie |
jolies |
zho-lee |
| long |
long |
longs |
lohn |
longue |
longues |
lohng |
| bad |
mauvais |
mauvais |
mo-vay |
mauvaise |
mauvaises |
mo-vezz |
| better, best |
meilleur |
meilleurs |
may-ur |
meilleure |
meilleures |
may-ur |
| new |
nouveau (nouvel) |
nouveaux |
noo-voh (noo-vell) |
nouvelle |
nouvelles |
noo-vell |
| little |
petit |
petits |
puh-tee |
petite |
petites |
puh-teet |
| old |
vieux (vieil) |
vieux |
vyuh (vyay) |
vieille |
vieilles |
vyay |
Note: The masculine singular and plural are pronounced the same, as are the feminine singular and plural. These are the most common adjectives that go before the noun. An acronym to remember which ones go before the noun is BRAGS: Beauty, Resemblance (même and autre), Age/Order (premier and dernier), Goodness, and Size. All other adjectives, except numbers, go after the noun. The three words in parentheses (bel, nouvel, and vieil) are used before masculine singular words beginning with a vowel or a silent h.
A few adjectives can be used before or after the noun, and the meaning changes accordingly. When used before the noun, they take a figurative meaning; and when used after, they take a literal meaning.
Remember that des means some, right? Well, there is an exception to that rule too. Before plural adjectives preceding plural nouns, you use de instead of des. Ex: Some old monuments. De vieux monuments.
Adjectives: Feminine
All adjectives must agree in number and gender with the noun they modify. Most adjectives are given in the masculine form, so to change to the feminine forms, follow these rules:
|
Masculine |
Feminine |
Adjective |
| Add -e |
brun |
brahn |
brune |
brunn |
brown |
|
fatigué |
fah-tee-gay |
fatiguée |
fah-tee-gay |
tired |
| If it already ends in -e, add nothing |
jeune |
zhun |
jeune |
zhun |
young |
| -x changes to -se |
généreux |
zhay-nay-ruh |
généreuse |
zhay-nay-ruhs |
generous |
Exceptions: |
faux |
foh |
fausse |
fohss |
false |
|
roux |
roo |
rousse |
rooss |
red (hair) |
|
doux |
doo |
douce |
dooss |
sweet, soft |
-il, -el, and -eil change to
-ille, -elle, and -eille |
naturel |
naht-ur-ell |
naturelle |
naht-ur-ell |
natural |
| -et changes to -ète |
inquiet |
ahn-kee-ay |
inquiète |
ahn-kee-ett |
worried |
Exceptions: |
muet |
moo-ay |
muette |
moo-ett |
silent |
|
coquet |
koh-kay |
coquette |
koh-kett |
stylish |
-en and -on change to
-enne and -onne |
Italien |
ee-tahl-ee-ahn |
Italienne |
ee-tahl-ee-enn |
Italian |
| -er changes to -ère |
cher |
share |
chère |
share |
dear, expensive |
| -f changes to -ve |
actif |
ac-teef |
active |
ac-teev |
active |
| -c changes to -che |
blanc |
blawn |
blanche |
blawnsh |
white |
Exceptions: |
public |
pooh-bleek |
publique |
pooh-bleek |
public |
|
grec |
grek |
grecque |
grek |
Greek |
| -g changes to -gue |
long |
lawn |
longue |
lawng |
long |
-eur changes to -euse if adjective
is derived from verb |
menteur |
mawn-tur |
menteuse |
mawn-tuhz |
liar |
-eur changes to -rice if adjective
is not same as verb |
créateur |
kray-ah-tur |
créatrice |
kray-ah-treess |
creator |
-eur changes to -eure with
adjectives of comparison |
inférieur |
ahn-fay-ree-uhr |
inférieure |
ahn-fay-ree-uhr |
inferior |
| And a few completely irregular ones: |
épais |
ay-peh |
épaisse |
ay-pehz |
thick |
| favori |
fah-voh-ree |
favorite |
fah-voh-reet |
favorite |
| frais |
freh |
fraîche |
frehsh |
fresh, cool |
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