As with adjectives ending in -ible, many French and English adjectives ending in -able are spelt the same way and carry the same meaning. Probable is “probable”, capable is “capable”, and durable is “durable”. Both languages took this ending from the Latin -abilis, added to a verb to describe something that can be done to…
Unlike most pairs of French and English words, adjectives ending in -ible often look identical, or nearly identical, in both languages. Possible is “possible”, terrible is “terrible”, and visible is “visible”. Both languages took this ending from the same source, the Latin ending -ibilis, added to a verb to describe something that can be done…
Many English adjectives and nouns ending in “-ary” have a close match in French, with the ending -aire instead. “Necessary” becomes nécessaire, “ordinary” becomes ordinaire, and “military” becomes militaire. As with other pairs of this kind, both endings come from the same source, the Latin ending -arius, -aria or -arium, rather than French borrowing directly…
A large number of French adjectives ending in -ique line up neatly with English adjectives ending in “-ical”. Électrique matches “electrical”, pratique matches “practical”, and politique matches “political”. The match is so regular that a learner can often guess the French word for an English “-ical” adjective simply by dropping the “-al” and adjusting the…
Many English adjectives ending in -ous have French equivalents ending in -eux. This pattern is especially useful because many of these words come from related Latin roots. Common examples include dangerous and dangereux, curious and curieux, and serious and sérieux. The pattern is common, but it is not automatic. Some English words ending in -ous…
English words ending in -ory often correspond to French words ending in -oire. Both forms derive from Latin adjectives ending in -orius. The pattern reflects shared etymological roots rather than direct borrowing between the modern languages. This correspondence aids vocabulary recognition for learners of either language. The match is consistent for many common terms but…
Many English adjectives ending in -ous have close French matches ending in -eux. This is one of the most useful word patterns in French. It can help with reading and guessing meaning, because a large number of English and French words come from the same Latin roots. Examples such as dangerous → dangereux and curious…
Many English nouns ending in -ncy (usually -ancy or –ency) have close French matches ending in -ance or -ence. All French nouns ending in -ence or -ance are feminine. This is a useful pattern and can help with reading and building French words. In many cases, English -ncy and French -nce come from the same…
Many French nouns ending in -té match English nouns ending in -ty. Both often come from the same Latin source. The French form usually kept -té, while English often changed it into -ty. Because of this shared history, many pairs look and sound alike and have close meanings. Examples include: This pattern is very common…
Many English adjectives ending in -al have close French matches ending in -al or -el. This is a useful pattern because both languages inherited many of these words from Latin. In many cases, the English and French forms are almost the same, with only small spelling shifts. Examples such as normal → normal and natural…
