Language/French/Grammar/Adjective—adjective-compounds
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Compound adjectives — Adjective-adjective compounds
Compound adjectives[edit | edit source]
Like compound nouns, compound adjectives can be made up in a variety of ways. Their internal structure determines the way in which they agree with the noun they modify.
General Rule[edit | edit source]
Where adjectives are coordinated, both agree with the noun:
| Compound Adjective | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| French | sourd-muet | Les enfants sourds-muets ont fait des progrès exceptionnels |
| English | deaf-mute | The deaf-mute children have made exceptional progress |
| French | aigre-doux | J'adore les sauces aigres-douces |
| English | sweet and sour | I adore sweet and sour sauces |
| French | nouveau-né | Les bébés nouveaux-nés sont très fatigants pour leurs parents |
| English | new-born | New-born babies are very exhausting for their parents |
| French | dernier-né | Les filles dernières-nées profitent de la présence de leurs frères et soeurs |
| English | last-born | Last-born girls take advantage of the presence of their brothers and sisters |
| French | grand-ouvert | Ils dorment la bouche grande-ouverte |
| English | wide open | They sleep with their mouths wide open |
Exception[edit | edit source]
Where the first adjective ends in -i, -o, only the second part agrees:
| Compound Adjective | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| French | tragi-comique | Toutes ses pièces étaient tragi-comiques |
| English | tragi-comedy | All her plays were tragi-comédies |
| French | franco-allemand | Dans le cadre de l'union européenne, les accords franco-allemands ont duré plus de trente ans |
| English | Franco-German | Within the European framework, the Franco-German agreements have lasted for more than thirty years |
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Adverbs ending in —ment derived from words no longer in the language
- Plural forms of adjectives — The normal case
- Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
- Nouns which refer both to males and to females
- Adverbs ending in —ment derived from nouns
- Quand utiliser QUAND et QUANT
- Possessive pronouns
- Plurals of nouns ending in eu, au, eau
- Plurals of nouns ending in –al
- Past Participle
- Plural
- Position of direct and indirect object pronouns
- Pronouns referring to groups of mixed gender
- Agreement with a preceding direct object pronoun when the participle is followed by infinitives
- Verbs with personal subject used impersonally