Ma famille et ma maison (My family and my home)
Primary 5 · French
Ma famille et ma maison (My family and my home)
Lesson 3 of 3
14 min
Let's begin
Mutesi has a pen-friend in France. She wants to write and tell her what her home in Rubavu looks like — not just what is in it, but whether it is big or small, clean, pretty, and what colour the door is.
Naming things was step one. Now you take step two: describing them.
French adjectives do two things that English adjectives never do. They change shape, and most of them stand behind the noun. Both are easy once you see them.
Step 1 Kitchen is la cuisine. It carries la, so it is a feminine word.
Step 2 Small is petit. But that is the masculine shape. Before a feminine word, an adjective usually adds an -e: petit → petite.
Step 3 Petit is one of a small handful of adjectives that jump in front of the noun.
Result: une petite cuisine — a small kitchen.
Now do the same for a green door. Door is la porte (feminine), green is vert → verte. But vert is a colour, and colours stand behind the noun.
Result: une porte verte — a green door. Word by word, French is saying “a door green”.
Feminine word after it? Add an -e.
| English | With a le word | With a la word |
|---|---|---|
| big | grand | grande |
| small | petit | petite |
| pretty | joli | jolie |
| green | vert | verte |
| blue | bleu | bleue |
| black | noir | noire |
| white | blanc | blanche |
| clean | propre | propre |
| dirty | sale | sale |
| red | rouge | rouge |
Two things to notice in that table.
And if there is more than one thing, add an -s on the end, exactly like the noun:
Most adjectives come AFTER the noun. This is the opposite of English, and it will feel strange for about a week. Then it will feel normal.
But a few short, very common ones come BEFORE the noun — the ones about size and beauty: grand, petit, joli.
So: size and beauty go first; colours and everything else go after.
You do not always have to squash the adjective next to the noun. You can use est (is) — and the adjective still changes shape to match.
Here is Mutesi’s letter — four sentences, and you understand every one.
J’habite à Rubavu, près du lac Kivu.
Ma maison est petite mais jolie.
Il y a trois chambres et une grande cuisine.
Le salon est propre et la porte est bleue.
(J’habite à = I live in. près du = near. mais = but.)
That is the whole goal of this unit: two or three true sentences about your own home, in French, with the adjectives agreeing properly.
Tip
Ask yourself two questions before every adjective
Say it, then check. Getting it wrong first and fixing it is how it sticks.
Say “a big house”. (la maison)
Answer: une grande maison. Maison is a la word → grand takes an -e. And grand is a size word, so it goes in front.
Say “a white wall”. (le mur)
Answer: un mur blanc. Mur is a le word, so blanc keeps its plain shape — and colours stand behind the noun.
Say “a green window”. (la fenêtre)
Answer: une fenêtre verte. Feminine → verte. Colour → after the noun.
Say “My bedroom is clean.” (la chambre)
Answer: Ma chambre est propre. Propre already ends in -e, so it does not change — a free one.
Say “My garden is small.” (le jardin)
Answer: Mon jardin est petit. Jardin is masculine, so no -e.
Now write two sentences about your own home.
Example answer: Ma maison est grande. Il y a un joli jardin et deux chambres.
What you learned today
Quick check
How do you say a blue door? (la porte)
