Forming the feminine of adjectives ending in -f

Hi Anna-liisa, we'll look at the question as it should tell you which word to agree in this exercise. French has two words for new, one means 'new' and the other is more like 'brand new'. 

Merci boucoup

Nouveau/nouvelle -- new to me but not necessarily "brand new". The opposite of nouveau is ancien (=former).

Mets un nouvelle chemise, celle-ci a une tâche. -- Put on a new shirt, this one has a stain.
Here the shirt isn't fresh out of the factory but just fresh out of the closet.

Neuf/neuve -- brand new, newly made. The opposite of neuf is vieux (=old).

J'ai fixé ton vélo. C'est comme neuf. -- I fixed your bike. It's like new.

Hi Anna Liisa,

Just to add to what Chris said-

nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle (new) is normally placed before the noun as in:

Mon nouvel ami s'appelle Martin = My new friend is called Martin

Ma nouvelle voiture est bleue = My new car is a blue one

Mon nouveau pote s'appelle Jacques = My new mate is called Jacques

but

neuf/neuve ( brand new) is always placed after the noun.

J'ai un vélo tout neuf = I have a brand new bike

Ma voiture est neuve = My car  is brand new

But if you say:

"J'ai une nouvelle voiture", we don't know whether it is brand new or not, it is just 'new to you'

Hope this helps!

Bonsoir Sue, Looking at the Collins-Robert Dictionary: nouveau (nuvo, nuvɛl ) Word forms:nouvelle, nouvel, devant un nom masculin commençant par une voyelle ou un h muet, masculine plural nouveaux (remplacé) new ⇒ Il me faut un nouveau pantalon. I need some new trousers. ⇒ Elle a une nouvelle voiture. She's got a new car. (en plus) another ⇒ Il y eu un nouvel accident au carrefour. There's been another accident at the crossroads. [élève] new ⇒ Il y a un nouvel élève dans ma classe. There's a new boy in my class. (récent) new ⇒ C'est nouveau, essayez-le. It's new, try it. (= original) [idée, solution] novel neuf neuf 2 (nœf ; nœv ) Word forms:neuve adjective (= non usagé) new ⇒ des chaussures neuves new shoes (= nouveau) [regard, idées] new From studying the definitions and examples, it appears the differences are contextual, i.e. dependant on what is being described. Bonne chance.

Merci bien,monsieur! SueMcL

Bonjour Sue !

We actually have a lesson on that subject:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/how-to-say-new-neuf-versus-nouveau

Bonne journée !