Beau, nouveau, vieux have different plural forms for masculine and feminine (adjectives)

Aurélie Drouard
2019-09-02
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Look at these adjectives:

Tom est beau, mais Henri et Bob sont très beaux.Tom is handsome, but Henri and Bob are very handsome.

Yvette est belle, mais Leila et Belinda sont très belles.Yvette is beautiful, but Leila and Belinda are very beautiful.

C'est un bel animal parmi de beaux animaux.It's a beautiful animal among beautiful animals.
 

Note that to form the masculine plural, adjectives ending in -eau add -x, and vieux doesn't change.

As for the feminine plural, it is regular and simply takes an -s.

BUT

The masculine forms bel, nouvel and vieil (when in front of a vowel) become the regular masculine plural beaux, nouveaux and vieux.

 

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Examples and resources

C'est un bel animal parmi de beaux animaux.It's a beautiful animal among beautiful animals.
Regarde ces vieux hommes et ces vieilles femmes.Look at these old men and these old women.
Yvette est belle, mais Leila et Belinda sont très belles.Yvette is beautiful, but Leila and Belinda are very beautiful.
Ce vieil arbre est à côté de ces vieux arbres.This old tree is next to these old trees.
Tom est beau, mais Henri et Bob sont très beaux.Tom is handsome, but Henri and Bob are very handsome.
Mon nouvel ami s'entend bien avec mes nouveaux amis.My new friend gets along with my new friends.
J'ai acheté de nouveaux bols et de nouvelles assiettes.I bought some new bowls and some new plates.
"Plurals in French" by www.frenchspanishonline.com
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