When "quelque chose" is used as a subject, are adjectives feminine?

Bonnie C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

When "quelque chose" is used as a subject, are adjectives feminine?

I've seen the sentences "Quelque chose est arrivé." and "Quelque chose est arrivée." Which is correct?
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer
Bonjour Bonnie !

"Quelque chose" is an indefinite pronoun, the contrary to "rien": it is therefore neutral, so will be followed with masculine:
"Quelque chose est arrivé."
"Quelque chose de beau." (Something beautiful)

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Bonnie C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour Aurélie! Yes, it's VERY helpful -- that's what I was finding made the most sense, but when I found French text with the added -e, I wondered if I had been doing it wrong all along... ALSO thank you (or someone at kwiziq.com) for pointing out that IL Y A is used with weather expressions that precede nouns rather than IL FAIT. I was definitely taught "Il fait beau/mauvais/etc.", but also "Il fait du soleil/du vent/etc.". I have many many (MANY!) books and handouts that lack the "Il y a..." weather expressions and give instead the "Il fait..." ones. I will have to apologize to my students and do a lot of deleting/changing!! Thank you for kwiziq, and for answering my question so quickly!

When "quelque chose" is used as a subject, are adjectives feminine?

I've seen the sentences "Quelque chose est arrivé." and "Quelque chose est arrivée." Which is correct?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...