Template:fr-adjective/documentation

Usage
Use this template to show the headword line of French adjectives, including all the inflections. It uses Module:fr-headword as a back-end.

The template adds the entry to Category:French adjectives. As with other Wiktionary part of speech templates, please do not use .

Basic examples
Most of the time, no parameters are necessary. E.g. for, use:

which produces

The module knows how to generate the correct feminine and plural in most cases. E.g. for an adjective in -e such as, use:

which produces

Note how the module knows that the feminine of adjectives in -e is the same as the masculine, and both the masculine and feminine plural are in -s.

The module knows how to handle many special cases in generating the feminine and plural. For example, for, use:

which produces

Here, the module knows that the masculine plural of adjectives in -al ends in -aux, while the feminine plural ends in -ales.

Similarly, for, use:

which produces

Here, the module knows that the feminine singular of adjectives in -er ends in -ère, and the feminine plural in -ères.

Overrides
You can explicitly specify the feminine using f. For example, for, with irregular feminine andalouse, use:

which produces

Note that when the feminine is explicitly specified but the feminine plural is defaulted, the specified feminine(s) will be used to form the feminine plural(s), as shown.

You can similarly override the masculine plural using mp, and the feminine plural using fp. An example that uses all three is, where both parts are inflected:

which produces

There are various shortcuts that can be used in override arguments:
 * requests the default value(s) explicitly.
 * stands for the lemma.
 * ,,   by themselves stand for the lemma with e, s or x added to the end, respectively.

An example that uses such codes is, with three feminine singulars: amateur, amateure and amatrice:

which produces

Here,  requests the lemma amateur;   requests the lemma plus e, producing amateure; and   requests the default, which replaces -teur with -trice. Note how all three feminines are used to form the corresponding feminine plurals.

Adjectives with special masculine singular forms used before vowels
Certain adjectives, such as, and , have a special form used in the masculine singular before vowels. To indicate this, use mv, e.g. for :

which produces

It is unnecessary to specify the masculine or feminine plural here, because the default rules suffice (e.g. adjectives in -x have an unchanged masculine plural).

Adjectives the same in masculine and feminine
Adjectives in -e, such as, are typically the same in the masculine and feminine. For these adjectives, the module generates only a single plural form, which can be overridden if necessary using p. A few adjectives not in -e behave the same way; to specify this, use  as the value of the first numbered parameter. An example is, with two plurals chic and chics:

which produces

This uses the shortcuts described above.

Conversely, a few adjectives in -e do not have the feminine the same as the masculine. For those, specify the feminine explicitly and the module will know to generate separate masculine and feminine singulars and plurals. An example is, with feminine sécrétrice:

which produces

Invariable and defective adjectives
Use 1 for invariable adjectives, e.g. :

which produces

Use onlyg for defective adjectives, i.e. those present only in certain genders or numbers, e.g., only found in the masculine singular in , and , only found in the plural. The possible values are:
 * : Only masculine (mp supported to override the masculine plural).
 * : Only feminine (fp supported to override the feminine plural).
 * : Only plural (fp supported to override the feminine plural).
 * : Only masculine singular.
 * : Only feminine singular.

An example is :

which produces

Multiword expressions
Multiword expressions use an intelligent algorithm to form the feminine and the plural. Specifically, if a known preposition is seen, the algorithm forms the feminine or plural only of the preceding word; otherwise, it forms the feminine or plural of the first and last word of the expression. (If multiple words precede a preposition, the algorithm forms the feminine or plural of the first and last such word.) The recognized prepositions are: Note that all prepositions must be preceded by a space to be recognized, and all except and  must be followed by a space.

An example is :

which produces

Note how the word before the preposition  is inflected automatically according to the default rules.

An example without a preposition is :

which produces

Here, the first and last word are inflected according to the default rules.

Some multiword terms inflect differently from the above rules. Use sp to specify which word or words inflect in a multiword adjective:
 * Use first if only the first word inflects.
 * Use last if only the last word inflects.
 * Use first-last if the first and last word inflect.
 * Use each if all words inflect.
 * Use first-second if the first and second words inflect.
 * Use second if only the second word inflects.

Examples:

For, use last:

which produces

For, use first:

which produces

For, use second:

which produces

If a multiword adjective has only two forms (singular and plural), you must use mf; no such terms are autodetected. An example is :

which produces

You can combine mf with sp if necessary.

Comparatives and superlatives
Use comp to specify an explicit comparative, and sup to specify an explicit superlative. Use comp2, comp3, ... for additional comparatives, and sup2, sup3, ... for additional superlatives. For example, for, use:

which produces

Parameters

 * head, head2, head3, ...
 * Explicitly specified headword(s), for introducing links in multiword expressions. Note that by default each word of a multiword lemma is linked, so you only need to use this when the default links don't suffice (e.g. the multiword expression consists of non-lemma forms, which need to be linked to their lemmas).


 * f, f2, f3, ...
 * Explicit feminine singular(s). Normally, let the module autogenerate the feminine singular form. Use  to explicitly request the default;   to set the feminine singular the same as the lemma (i.e. the masculine singular); and   to request the lemma + -e.


 * mp, mp2, mp3, ...
 * Explicit masculine plural(s). Normally, let the module autogenerate the masculine plural form. Use  to explicitly request the default;   to set the masculine plural the same as the lemma (i.e. the masculine singular); and   or   to request the lemma + this letter.


 * fp, fp2, fp3, ...
 * Explicit feminine plural(s). Normally, let the module autogenerate the feminine plural form, which it does by pluralizing the feminine singular(s) (explicitly given or defaulted). Use  to explicitly request the default; and   to set the feminine plural the same as the lemma (i.e. the masculine singular). But if you are tempted to do this, you probably want 1 instead.


 * mv, mv2, ...
 * Masculine singular form used only before a vowel, e.g. vieil for . Only applies to a handful of entries.


 * m, m2, ...
 * Explicit masculine singular(s), if different from the lemma. Rarely needed. An example where this is used is, with masculine singular either sûr de soi or sûr de lui.


 * mf
 * Indicate the the masculine and feminine are the same in the singular and plural. Autodetected for single-word adjectives ending in -e.


 * p, p2, ...
 * Irregular plural inflection for adjectives with mf.


 * 1
 * Specify that the adjective is invariable.


 * onlyg
 * Specify that the adjective is defective and only inflects in certain genders and/or numbers. See above.


 * sp
 * Specify the part(s) of a multiword adjective that inflect. Those parts will be inflected according to the default rules. See examples above.


 * comp, comp2, comp3, ...
 * Comparative form(s).


 * sup, sup2, sup3, ...
 * Superlative form(s).


 * 1
 * Don't link individual words in the headword of a multiword term. Useful for foreign terms like and  where the expression functions as a whole in French but the individual parts are not French words.


 * 1
 * Indicate that automatic splitting and linking of words should split on hyphens in multiword expressions with spaces in them (splitting on hyphens is automatic if there are no spaces in the term). See below and Module:fr-headword.

Autosplitting
The template uses an intelligent algorithm to split and link words in multiword expressions. Individual words of a multiword expression like will be linked, as will individual words in a hyphenated expression like  and parts of words with apostrophes in them, like  (linked as  ). See Module:fr-headword for more details.