Indefinite Adjectives

	Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Adjectifs indéfinis

Indefinite adjectives describe nouns in a general or non-specific way. Many indefinite adjectives indicate a vague quantity.

Par exemple…

J’aime toutes ces lumières.		I like all of these lights.
Quelques élèves sont en retard.		Some students are late.

Characteristics of indefinite adjectives

1. Used in place of an article, not with one (except autre)
2. Placed directly in front of a noun
3. Must agree with the noun in number and sometimes gender
4. Many are identical to French indefinite pronouns

French indefinite adjectives

Masc sing		Fem sing		Masc plural		Fem plural
autre		autre		autres		autres		other
certain		certaine		certains		certaines		certain
chaque		chaque						each
				divers		diverses		various, several
maint		mainte		maints		maintes		many
				plusieurs		plusieurs		several
quelque		quelque		quelques		quelques		some, a few
tel		telle		tels		telles		some, any
tout		toute		tous		toutes		all, every

Using indefinite adjectives

+ Autre and quelque have two forms: they must agree with the noun in number.

Il veut une autre voiture.		He wants another car.
J’ai deux autres questions.		I have two other questions.
Il faut attendre quelque temps.		You have to wait some time.
Voici quelques chaises.		Here are some chairs.

  When autres is used without a number, you need the indefinite article des. However, it changes to de (see the end of that lesson) and then contracts, so you end up with d’autre(s).

Y a-t-il d’autres idées ?

Are there any other ideas?

+ Certain, maint, tel, and tout each have four forms: they must agree in gender and number.

Elle a un certain charme.		She has a certain charm.
Une telle situation est inattendue.		Such a situation is unexpected.
Je le fais tous les jours.		I do it every day.

+ Chaque is invariable. It can only be singular and is used with the third person singular (il) form of the verb.

Chaque enfant peut choisir un livre.

Each child can choose one book.

+ Divers and plusieurs can only be plural and are used with the third person plural (ils) form of the verb. Plusieurs is invariable, while divers has masculine and feminine forms.

Diverses personnes sont parties tôt.		Various / Several people left early.
J’ai posé plusieurs questions.		I asked several questions.

 Related lessons

• Adjectives
• Tout as an adjective
• Nouns
• Verb conjugations
   

 En español

• Adjetivos indefinidos
   

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!