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Describing people: être and adjectives
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Describe what you and other people look like and what they are like, using être (to be) and adjectives that agree.
Être: to be
Adjectives agree
Add -e for feminine and -s for plural.
Il est grand. Elle est grande. Ils sont grands. Elles sont grandes.
Adjectives already ending in -e do not change for feminine: timide, drôle, rouge. Sympa does not change for feminine either.
Useful: grand (tall), petit (small), intelligent, sportif / sportive, bavard (chatty), timide (shy), drôle (funny), gentil / gentille (kind).
Il est grand. Elle est grande. Ils sont grands. Elles sont grandes.
Adjectives already ending in -e do not change for feminine: timide, drôle, rouge. Sympa does not change for feminine either.
Useful: grand (tall), petit (small), intelligent, sportif / sportive, bavard (chatty), timide (shy), drôle (funny), gentil / gentille (kind).
Hair and eyes
Use avoir: J'ai les cheveux longs / courts / blonds / bruns / roux (red).
J'ai les yeux bleus / verts / marron.
Marron (brown) never changes. Je porte des lunettes. = I wear glasses.
J'ai les yeux bleus / verts / marron.
Marron (brown) never changes. Je porte des lunettes. = I wear glasses.
Translate: My sister is tall and she has long hair.
- My sister is tall: ma sœur est grande (feminine -e).
- she has long hair: elle a les cheveux longs.
Answer: Ma sœur est grande et elle a les cheveux longs.
Être: suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, sont. Adjectives add -e (feminine) and -s (plural). Use avoir for hair and eyes: j'ai les cheveux courts, les yeux bleus.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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