Introduction.In classical algebraic geometry the adjoint curves to an irreducible plane curve are an essential tool in the study of the geometry on the curve. In this paper we shall give an algebro-arithmetic development of the theory of adjoint curves, and shall extend the classical results to irreducible plane curves with arbitrary singularities defined over arbitrary ground fields. Our definition of the adjoint condition at a given singular point of the curve is stated in terms of the conductor between the local ring of the point and its integral closure. The fundamental properties of the adjoint curves are then derived from corresponding properties of the conductor.The single deepest and most important property of the adjoint curves is that, on a curve of order m, the adjoint curves of order m -3 cut out the complete canonical series. This property is equivalent to the fact that the