French Adjective Placement: Before or After Nouns?

French adjective placement can be tricky for English speakers. Unlike in English, where adjectives almost always come before nouns, French adjectives can appear either before or after the noun they modify.

Let's break down the rules to help you use adjectives correctly in French.

General Rule: Adjectives After Nouns

In French, most adjectives follow the noun they describe. This is the opposite of English and can take some getting used to.

Examples:

• Une voiture rouge (A red car)
• Un chat noir (A black cat)
• Une maison grande (A big house)

Exceptions: Adjectives Before Nouns

Some adjectives, however, come before the noun. These are often short, common adjectives that you'll use frequently. The easiest way to remember these is with the acronym BAGS:

Beauty

• Une belle fille (A beautiful girl)
• Un joli jardin (A pretty garden)

Age

• Un jeune homme (A young man)
• Une vieille ville (An old town)

Goodness

• Une bonne idée (A good idea)
• Un mauvais film (A bad movie)

Size

• Un grand livre (A big book)
• Une petite maison (A small house)

Other Adjectives That Come Before Nouns

While BAGS covers many common adjectives, there are others that also precede nouns:

• Nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle (new)
• Ancien/ancienne (former, old)
• Autre (other)
• Même (same)
• Premier/première (first)
• Dernier/dernière (last)

Example: Le nouveau restaurant est excellent. (The new restaurant is excellent.)

Adjectives That Change Meaning

Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun:

• Un ancien professeur (A former teacher)

• Un professeur ancien (An old teacher)

• Un pauvre homme (A pitiful man)

• Un homme pauvre (A poor man)

Multiple Adjectives

When using multiple adjectives in French, they typically follow this order:

1. Opinion
2. Size
3. Age
4. Shape
5. Color
6. Origin
7. Material

Example: Une belle petite table ronde en bois (A beautiful small round wooden table)

Practice Makes Perfect

Understanding French adjective placement takes time and practice. At leçon.ai, we offer personalized exercises to help you master this aspect of French grammar.

Our AI-powered system adapts to your learning pace, providing targeted practice on adjective placement in various contexts.

Conclusion

French adjective placement follows specific rules, with most adjectives following nouns and some common ones preceding them.

Remember the BAGS rule and practice regularly to improve your French fluency.