1 The basic rules
- When adjectives are used right beside the noun they are describing, they go BEFORE it in English. French adjectives usually go AFTER the noun.
| l’heure exacte | the right time |
| la page suivante | the following page |
- Adjectives describing colours, shapes or nationalities always go AFTER the noun.
| des cravates rouges | red ties |
| une table ronde | a round table |
| un mot français | a French word |
- Some very common adjectives usually come BEFORE the noun.
| beau | lovely, beautiful, good-looking, handsome |
| bon | good, right |
| court | short |
| grand | tall, big, long, great |
| gros | big, fat |
| haut | high |
| jeune | young |
| joli | pretty |
| long | long |
| mauvais | bad, poor |
| meilleur | better |
| nouveau | new |
| petit | small, little |
| premier | first |
| vieux | old |
| une belle journée | a lovely day |
| Bonne chance! | Good luck! |
- There is a small group of common adjectives whose meaning changes depending on whether they come before the noun or go after it.
| Adjective | Example before noun | Meaning | Example after noun | Meaning |
| ancien | un ancien collègue | a former colleague | un fauteuil ancien | an antique chair |
| cher | Chère Julie | Dear Julie | une robe chère | an expensive dress |
| propre | ma propre chambre | my own bedroom | un mouchoir propre | a clean handkerchief |
Tipdernier (meaning last) and prochain (meaning next) go AFTER nouns relating to time, for example, semaine (meaning week) and mois (meaning month). Otherwise they go BEFORE the noun.
| la semaine dernière | last week |
| la dernière fois que je t’ai vu | the last time I saw you |
| la semaine prochaine | next week |
| la prochaine fois que j’y vais | the next time I go there |
Grammar Extra!When certain adjectives are used with certain nouns, they take on a meaning you cannot always guess. You may need to check these in your dictionary and learn them. Here are a few:
| mon petit ami | my boyfriend |
| les petits pois | peas |
| les grandes vacances | the summer holidays |
| une grande personne | an adult, a grown-up |
2 Using more than one adjective
- In French you can use more than one adjective at a time to describe someone or something. If one of the adjectives usually comes BEFORE the noun and the other usually goes AFTER the noun, the word order follows the usual pattern.
| une jeune femme blonde | a young blonde woman |
| un nouveau film intéressant | an interesting new film |
- If both adjectives usually come AFTER the noun, they are joined together with et (meaning and).
| un homme mince et laid | a thin, ugly man |
| une personne intelligente et drôle | an intelligent, funny person |
Key points
- Most French adjectives go after the noun they describe.
- Some very common adjectives usually come before the noun: bon/mauvais, court/long, grand/petit, jeune/nouveau/vieux, gros, haut, beau, joli, premier, meilleur.
- The meaning of some adjectives such as ancien, cher and propre varies according to the position in the sentence.