Things to Know About French Adjectives
👉 Usually the adjective comes after the noun it is describing.
le lac gelé (the frozen lake)
👉 Colours also come after the noun.
le tableau noir (the black board)
👉 B.A.N.G.S. = Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness and Size generally come before the noun
beau, bon, bref, grand, gros, faux, haut, jeune, joli, mauvais, meilleur, nouveau, petit, vieux
un grand homme (a tall man)
👉 If a noun is accompanied by two or more adjectives, they are placed after the noun if they are connected by a conjunction such as:
mais, donc, or, car, et, ou, ni … ni, que, parce que, si, lorsque, quand
un homme grand et beau (a tall andhandsome man)
👉 If they are not connected, they frame the noun.
Elle portait une grande jupe bleue (She was wearing a long blue skirt)
👉 Lastly, some adjectives can change meaning depending on their position, see Meaning Alteration for more information.
before a noun: former
un ancien ami
a former friend
after a noun: old
un ami ancien
an old friend
before a noun: respectable
un brave homme
a respectable man
after a noun: courageous, brave
un homme brave
a brave man
before a noun: certain (particular)
un certain âge
a certain age
after a noun: certain (sure)
j'en suis certain
I'm certain of it
before a noun: dear
un cher ami
a dear friend
after a noun: expensive
un ami cher
an expensive friend
before a noun: curious (odd)
une curieuse histoire
an odd story
after a noun: curious (interested)
un homme curieux
a curious man
before a noun: last (of all)
la dernière semaine
the last week ... of the month for example
after a noun: last (most recent)
la semaine dernière
last week
before a noun: strange
une drôle d’histoire
a strange story
after a noun: amusing, funny
une histoire drôle
a funny story
before a noun: great
un grand homme
a great man
after a noun: tall
un homme grand
a tall man
before a noun: poor (pitiful)
un pauvre homme
a poor man
after a noun: poor (without money)
le pauvre homme
the poor (moneyless) man
before a noun: next (when it happens again)
la prochaine fois
the next time
after a noun: next (soon, coming)
le jour prochain
the following day
before a noun: own
son propre livre
his own book
after a noun: clean
un livre propre
a clean book
before a noun: simple, nothing but
une pure formalité
a mere formality
after a noun: pure, fresh
l’air pur
fresh air
before a noun: damn good/ awesome
un sacré livre
a damn good book
after a noun: holy
un livre sacré
a holy book
before a noun: disgusting
une sale histoire
a disgusting story
after a noun: dirty
une histoire sale
a dirty story
before a noun: only
son seul ami
his only friend
after a noun: alone
un homme seul
a lonely man
before a noun: real
un vrai ami
a real friend
after a noun: true
un ami vrai
a true friend