Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Real Texts for Real Readers

Décrire avec des adjectifs: Lost-Pet Posters and Character Portraits

D1 D2 C1 C2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can find describing words (adjectives) in a French text.
  • I can make adjectives agree with masculine, feminine and plural nouns, including patterns like -eux → -euse and -if → -ive.
  • I can put most adjectives after the noun, and a few short ones (like petit, grand, beau) before.
  • I can use son, sa, ses (his, her, its).
  • I can write a detailed description of a person, an animal or a character.

Words to know

un adjectif
A describing word: grand, gentil, curieux.
l'accord
Agreement: changing the adjective to match the noun (masculine or feminine, singular or plural).
le portrait
A description of what a person or character looks like and is like.
le physique
What someone looks like (tall, grey fur...).
le caractère
What someone is like inside: their personality (kind, curious...).
son, sa, ses
his / her / its. It agrees with the thing owned, not the owner.

Help! A cat is lost!

Imagine your cat is lost. You make a poster. If you write only Chat perdu, nobody will know which cat to look for! You need details: size, colour, eyes, personality. Those details are adjectives.

In Grade 4 you learned colour words and that une pomme verte gets an -e. In Grade 5 you will learn more adjective patterns and write longer, richer descriptions.

An orange tabby cat with white paws and green eyes sitting on a porch.
How would you describe this cat on a lost-pet poster? Try: un petit chat roux, aux yeux verts et aux pattes blanches. AI-generated image
Worked example

Let's read a lost-pet poster

Read this poster and find every detail that would help you recognize Biscuit.

CHAT PERDU !

Notre chat s'appelle Biscuit. C'est un petit chat roux avec une longue queue blanche. Il a les yeux verts. Il est gentil, mais il est un peu timide. Il porte un collier bleu.

Perdu : le samedi 10 octobre 2026, près du parc des Érables.

Si vous voyez Biscuit, téléphonez à la famille Tremblay : 555-0147.

Récompense !

  1. Purpose: a lost-pet poster asks people to help find an animal. Features: a big title, a description, when and where it was lost, a phone number, sometimes a reward (récompense).
  2. Size and colour: un petit chat roux (a small ginger cat; roux is the word for orange-red fur or hair).
  3. Tail: une longue queue blanche (a long white tail). queue is feminine, so long → longue and blanc → blanche.
  4. Eyes: les yeux verts (green eyes). yeux is plural, so vert → verts.
  5. Personality: gentil (kind), un peu timide (a little shy).
  6. Clothes: un collier bleu (a blue collar). When/where: Saturday, October 10, 2026, near the park.

Look for a small ginger cat with a long white tail, green eyes and a blue collar. He is kind but a little shy. Call the Tremblay family.

PatternMasculineFeminineExample
add -egrand, petit, vertgrande, petite, verteune grande maison
already ends in -e: no changejeune, timide, calme, drôlejeune, timide, calme, drôleune fille drôle
-eux → -eusecurieux, heureux, paresseuxcurieuse, heureuse, paresseuseune souris curieuse
-if → -ivesportif, actifsportive, activeune amie sportive
-en → -enne, -il → -illecanadien, gentilcanadienne, gentilleune voisine gentille
specialblanc, long, beau, vieuxblanche, longue, belle, vieilleune belle journée
Adjective agreement patterns. (curious, happy, lazy; sporty, active; Canadian, kind; white, long, beautiful, old)
Adjectives match their nounune longue queue blanchequeuefemininelong → longue(special)blanc → blanche(special)les yeux vertsyeuxmasculine pluralvert → verts(add -s)
In Biscuit's poster, queue is feminine, so long and blanc change. yeux is plural, so vert gets an -s.

Plural: add -s (mostly)

For a plural noun, add -s: des chats noirs, des fleurs rouges. Adjectives that already end in -s or -x stay the same in the masculine plural: des chats gris, des garçons curieux. The feminine plural is easy: just add -s to the feminine form: des filles curieuses.

Where does the adjective go?

Most French adjectives go after the noun: un chat roux, une fille sportive.

But a small group of short, common adjectives go before the noun. Remember BAGS:

  • Beauty: beau, joli (beautiful, pretty)
  • Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau (young, old, new)
  • Goodness: bon, mauvais (good, bad)
  • Size: petit, grand (small, big)

un petit chat, une belle journée, un jeune raton laveur, une grande mouffette.

His or her: son, sa, ses

son, sa, ses work like mon, ma, mes. They agree with the thing, not the owner:

  • Théo et sa meilleure amie = Théo and his best friend (amie is feminine).
  • Rosalie et son collier = Rosalie and her collar (collier is masculine).
  • Biscuit et ses yeux verts = Biscuit and his green eyes (plural).

Watch out: son is also used before a feminine word that starts with a vowel: son amie (easier to say than sa amie).

BAGS adjectives go BEFORE the nounBBeautybeau, joliAAgejeune, vieux, nouveauGGoodnessbon, mauvaisSSizepetit, grandunpetitchatrouxBEFORE: size (BAGS)AFTER: most adjectives
Most adjectives come after the noun (un chat roux). Short BAGS adjectives come before it (un petit chat).
Worked example

Let's read a character portrait

Read this portrait from a story. Sort the details into physique (looks) and caractère (personality).

Théo le raton laveur

Théo est un jeune raton laveur. Il est petit et rond. Il a une fourrure grise et un masque noir autour des yeux. Théo est très curieux : il ouvre toutes les poubelles du quartier ! Sa meilleure amie s'appelle Rosalie. C'est une grande mouffette noire et blanche. Rosalie est calme et gentille, mais quand elle a peur... attention !

  1. Théo, physique: jeune, petit, rond (round), une fourrure grise (grey fur), un masque noir autour des yeux (a black mask around the eyes).
  2. Théo, caractère: très curieux. The text gives an example: he opens every garbage can in the neighbourhood!
  3. Rosalie, physique: une grande mouffette (a big skunk), noire et blanche. mouffette is feminine, so we see grande, noire, blanche.
  4. Rosalie, caractère: calme et gentille. The text hints at a surprise when she's scared (quand elle a peur... attention !). What do skunks do when they are scared? They spray!
  5. Writer's trick: good portraits show a trait with an action: Il ouvre toutes les poubelles shows that he is curious.

Théo: young, small, round, grey fur, black mask; curious. Rosalie: big, black and white; calm and kind (but watch out when she's scared!).

Just for fun

The French word for raccoon, raton laveur, means something like "little washer rat". Raccoons often dunk and rub their food in water, so it looks like they are doing the dishes. Théo, please wash the garbage-can snacks too!

Hands-on activity

Lost toy poster

You need: a stuffed animal or toy, paper, pencil crayons.

  1. Pretend your toy is lost (hide it somewhere fun).
  2. Look at it closely and list 6 adjectives in French: size, colour, eyes or ears, personality.
  3. Check each adjective: is the noun masculine or feminine? singular or plural?
  4. Make a poster like Biscuit's: a big title (TOUTOU PERDU ! or JOUET PERDU !; un toutou = a stuffed animal in Canadian French), a drawing, 4 sentences of description, and when and where it was lost.
  5. Give the poster to someone at home. Can they find the toy using only your French clues?

Your turn

1

Make feminine: grand.

2

Make feminine: curieux.

3

Make feminine: sportif.

4

Write a small cat (un chat).

5

Write a blue collar (un collier).

6

On the poster, what colour are Biscuit's eyes?

7

In the portrait, what does Théo do that shows he is curious?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is timide the same in the feminine?

2

What does la récompense mean on a poster?

3

Does grand usually go before or after the noun?

4

Does rouge go before or after the noun?

5

Fill in: Biscuit et ___ collier (his collar).

More practice: on your own

1

Make plural: une fille heureuse.

2

Write a white rabbit and a white mouse (un lapin / une souris).

3

Fill in son, sa or ses: Maya et ___ équipe.

4

Fix: une rouge belle tuque.

5

Sort into physique or caractère: gentil, grand, drôle, roux.

Challenge

1

Rewrite this sentence for a female rabbit named Praline (une lapine): C'est un petit lapin roux avec une longue queue blanche. Il est gentil.

2

Write a 4-sentence portrait of a real or imaginary animal: 2 sentences on physique, 1 on caractère, and 1 action that shows the caractère.

3

Find and fix 3 mistakes: Rosalie est une mouffette grand. Elle est calme et gentil. Sa collier est rouge.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is correct?

2.

Which is correct?

3.

The feminine of blanc is...

4.

Rosalie et ___ amis (her friends).

5.

What is the main purpose of a lost-pet poster?

6.

Which word describes caractère (personality)?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The curriculum asks Grade 5 students to write in different forms for different purposes, using vocabulary and stylistic elements to communicate clearly (D1), and to revise and edit their work for conventions such as adjective agreement (D2). Reading a poster and a story portrait practises reading strategies (C1) and noticing the purpose and features of text forms (C2).

Building on Grade 4: Grade 4 introduced colour adjectives after the noun and adding -e and -s. Grade 5 adds the main irregular patterns, the BAGS adjectives that go before the noun, and son/sa/ses.

Common difficulties:

  • son / sa matching the owner. English his/her follows the owner; French follows the noun. Ask: "Is the thing masculine or feminine?"
  • Putting all adjectives before the noun. Only the BAGS group goes first.
  • Forgetting special feminines (blanche, belle, vieille, longue). Make flashcards.

Canadian French used: un toutou (stuffed animal), une tuque (winter hat).

Note: The phone number on the poster uses 555-01xx, a range reserved for fiction.