Understanding Complex Noun Agreement Patterns
Beyond basic gender and number agreement, French has complex agreement patterns that involve:
Advanced agreement situations:
- Collective nouns: la plupart, une dizaine, un groupe
- Compound subjects: Pierre et Marie, ni...ni, soit...soit
- Quantity expressions: beaucoup de, peu de, assez de
- Fractions and percentages: la moitié de, 50% des
- Special cases: proximity agreement, semantic agreement
These patterns require understanding meaning-based agreement versus grammatical agreement, and knowing when proximity or logic determines the agreement.
Mastering these patterns is essential for advanced French proficiency and natural expression.
Examples
La plupart des étudiants sont intelligents. (Most students are intelligent.)
Collective noun "plupart" triggers plural agreement
Pierre et sa sœur sont arrivés. (Pierre and his sister arrived.)
Mixed gender compound subject takes masculine plural
Une dizaine de personnes étaient présentes. (About ten people were present.)
Quantity expression triggers plural agreement
Collective Nouns and Agreement
Collective nouns can trigger singular or plural agreement depending on meaning:
Collective Noun Agreement Patterns
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| la plupart de | plural agreement | La plupart des gens pensent que... |
| la majorité de | singular/plural | La majorité vote/votent |
| un groupe de | singular/plural | Un groupe d'étudiants arrive/arrivent |
| une foule de | singular/plural | Une foule de gens crie/crient |
| le reste de | depends on complement | Le reste des pommes est/sont... |
| une partie de | depends on complement | Une partie des livres est/sont... |
LA PLUPART DE - Always Plural
Always triggers plural agreement:
La plupart des étudiants sont français. (Most students are French.)
La plupart du temps passe vite. (Most of the time passes quickly.)
Flexible Collective Nouns
Can take singular or plural depending on emphasis:
La majorité vote. (The majority votes.) - Focus on group as unit
La majorité votent. (The majority vote.) - Focus on individuals
Compound Subjects
Multiple subjects connected by conjunctions follow specific agreement rules:
Examples
Pierre et Marie sont partis. (Pierre and Marie left.)
Mixed gender takes masculine plural agreement
Le père et la mère travaillent. (The father and mother work.)
Multiple subjects = plural agreement
ET (And) - Plural Agreement
Subjects joined by ET take plural:
Paul et Jean sont amis. (Paul and Jean are friends.)
Marie et Sophie sont parties. (Marie and Sophie left.)
Mixed Gender with ET
Masculine takes precedence:
Marie et Pierre sont français. (Marie and Pierre are French.)
Even one masculine makes the group masculine
NI...NI (Neither...Nor) Agreement
NI...NI can take singular or plural agreement:
Examples
Ni Pierre ni Marie ne vient. (Neither Pierre nor Marie is coming.) - Singular
Ni Pierre ni Marie ne viennent. (Neither Pierre nor Marie are coming.) - Plural
Singular Agreement (Traditional)
Emphasizes individual negation:
Ni lui ni elle ne comprend. (Neither he nor she understands.)
Focus on each person individually not understanding
Plural Agreement (Modern)
Treats as compound subject:
Ni Paul ni Jean ne viennent. (Neither Paul nor Jean are coming.)
Modern tendency toward plural agreement
Quantity Expressions
Expressions of quantity affect agreement patterns:
Quantity Expression Agreement
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| beaucoup de | plural | Beaucoup d'étudiants sont... |
| peu de | plural | Peu de gens savent... |
| assez de | plural | Assez de personnes viennent... |
| trop de | plural | Trop de voitures polluent... |
| une dizaine de | plural | Une dizaine de personnes étaient... |
| une centaine de | plural | Une centaine d'étudiants participent... |
Adverbial Quantities
Beaucoup, peu, assez, trop + DE:
Beaucoup d'étudiants travaillent. (Many students work.)
Peu de gens comprennent. (Few people understand.)
Approximate Numbers
Une dizaine, une centaine, etc.:
Une vingtaine de personnes sont venues. (About twenty people came.)
Une centaine d'étudiants participent. (About a hundred students participate.)
Fractions and Percentages
Fractions and percentages follow specific agreement rules:
Examples
La moitié des étudiants sont absents. (Half the students are absent.)
50% des gens pensent que... (50% of people think that...)
Un tiers de la population vote. (A third of the population votes.)
Deux tiers des électeurs ont voté. (Two thirds of voters voted.)
LA MOITIÉ DE
Agreement depends on the complement:
La moitié du gâteau est mangée. (Half the cake is eaten.) - Singular complement
La moitié des invités sont partis. (Half the guests left.) - Plural complement
Percentages
Usually plural agreement:
75% des étudiants réussissent. (75% of students succeed.)
20% de la population vit... (20% of the population lives...)
Proximity Agreement
Sometimes agreement follows the nearest noun rather than grammatical rules:
Examples
C'est moi qui ai raison. (It's me who is right.)
Agreement with "moi" (first person) not "qui"
C'est nous qui sommes responsables. (It's us who are responsible.)
Agreement with "nous" (first person plural)
C'est...qui Constructions
Agreement with the emphasized element:
C'est toi qui as tort. (It's you who are wrong.)
C'est eux qui ont gagné. (It's them who won.)
Agreement with Titles and Proper Nouns
Special agreement rules for titles and names:
Examples
« Les Misérables » est un roman célèbre. (Les Misérables is a famous novel.)
Title treated as singular despite plural form
Les États-Unis sont un pays riche. (The United States is a rich country.)
Country name with plural form takes plural agreement
Book/Movie Titles
Usually singular agreement:
« Les Trois Mousquetaires » raconte... (The Three Musketeers tells...)
Title as a unit takes singular verb
Country Names
Agreement matches the form:
Les Pays-Bas sont... (The Netherlands is/are...)
Plural form country takes plural agreement
Agreement with Infinitives and Clauses
Infinitives and clauses as subjects take singular agreement:
Examples
Parler français est difficile. (Speaking French is difficult.)
Infinitive subject = singular agreement
Que tu viennes me fait plaisir. (That you come pleases me.)
Clause subject = singular agreement
Regional and Stylistic Variations
Agreement patterns can vary by region and style:
Formal vs Informal
Formal French stricter with agreement:
Formal: La majorité des députés vote.
Informal: La majorité des députés votent.
Regional Differences
Some variation in collective noun agreement:
France: Un groupe d'étudiants arrive.
Quebec: Un groupe d'étudiants arrivent.
Common Complex Agreement Mistakes
Here are frequent errors with complex agreement:
1. Collective noun confusion: Wrong agreement with collective nouns
2. Mixed gender errors: Not using masculine for mixed groups
3. Quantity expression mistakes: Wrong agreement with quantity words
4. Proximity errors: Following wrong noun for agreement
Examples
❌ La plupart des gens pense → ✅ La plupart des gens pensent
Wrong: "plupart" always takes plural agreement
❌ Pierre et Marie sont parties → ✅ Pierre et Marie sont partis
Wrong: mixed gender takes masculine plural
❌ Beaucoup de gens pense → ✅ Beaucoup de gens pensent
Wrong: quantity expressions take plural agreement
❌ Un groupe d'étudiants français arrive → ✅ Un groupe d'étudiants français arrive
Wrong: agreement with "groupe" not "étudiants"