Key points about the position of adjectives in French
Most adjectives in French go after the noun, such as bleu (blue) and intéressant (interesting).
Some adjectives go before the noun, such as nouveau (new) and petit (small).
Some adjectives change spelling with All nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. singular nouns that start with a vowel or silent ‘h’, such as nouveau (new), which becomes nouvel, eg un nouvel ordinateur (a new computer).
Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they are before or after the noun, such as ancien, which means ‘former’ before a noun or ‘very old’ after a noun.
Video: French adjectives
Watch this video to recap what you know about adjectives in French.
Adjectives: How to describe people, places and things in French
You're going to want to describe nouns in French.
J'ai un chien - I have a dog - is nice but… J'ai un chien mignon - I have a cute dog… is better!
The first thing to notice is that adjectives in French usually go after the noun.
J'ai une porte verte - I have a green door.
The next thing to notice is that the adjective must agree with the noun.
Une porte is a feminine noun which means that the adjective vert has a feminine ending 'e'.
If you have more than one of something like deux lapins blancs - two white rabbits - lapins is plural. Which means that the adjective has to be plural too. blancs has an s at the end.
If you have more than one girl - les filles - then any adjective has to be feminine and plural.
So content adds an e and an s - les filles contentes - the happy girls. Usually adjectives in French come after the noun but there are a few that don't.
beau - beautiful - comes before the noun.
bon - good. Un bon livre - A good book.
And grand and petit also go before the noun:
Ma petite sœur - My little sister.
Mon grand lit - My big bed.
Now where's my cute black dog? Où est mon chien mignon et noir?
Adjectives that come after nouns
In French, most adjectives come after the noun.
For example:
J’ai les yeux bleus. – I have blue eyes.
Nous apprenons beaucoup de choses utiles au collège. – We learn lots of useful things at school.
French adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and number. For most adjectives, such as petit (small), add an e if the noun is feminine, s if it is masculine and plural, and es if it is feminine and plural.
Some adjectives, such as travailleur/travailleuse (hardworking), are irregular, and it is essential to learn the different forms of the adjectives to use them accurately.
Adjectives that come after nouns - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into French:
I have blonde hair.
J’ai les cheveux blonds.
The adjective blonds (blonde) must go after the noun cheveux (hair).
Translate this sentence into French:
We visited an interesting town.
Nous avons visité une ville intéressante.
The adjective intéressante (interesting) must go after the noun ville (town).
Adjectives that come before nouns
Some adjectives go before the noun. These are often referred to as the BAGS adjectives. BAGS stands for beauty, age, goodness and size.
| Beauty | Age | Goodness | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (beautiful) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (old) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (good) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (big) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (pretty) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (new) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (bad) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (small) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (young) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (big, large, lots of) |
For example:
J’habite dans un petit appartement. – I live in a small apartment.
Mon ami a chanté une nouvelle chanson. – My friend sang a new song.
Irregular spellings
Some of the BAGS adjectives have irregular spellings before masculine singular nouns that start with a vowel or silent ‘h’.
| English | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beautiful, handsome, nice (weather) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again., Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (before vowel or silent ‘h’) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| Old | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again., Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (before vowel or silent ‘h’) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| New | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again., Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (before vowel or silent ‘h’) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
For example:
Le vieil homme a un vieux chien. – The old man has an old dog.
Je joue beaucoup de nouveaux jeux sur mon nouvel ordinateur. – I play lots of new games on my new computer.
Irregular spellings - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into French:
I saw a handsome man.
J’ai vu un bel homme.
Homme (man) is a masculine noun that starts with a silent ‘h’, so use bel to mean ‘handsome’.
Adjectives that come before and after nouns
Some adjectives change their meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun.
| French | English meaning before a noun | Example | English meaning after a noun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | former | Il est mon ancien prof. – He is my former teacher. | very old | Ma mère a une voiture ancienne. – My mum has a very old car. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | dear/beloved | On adore nos chers animaux. – We love our dear/beloved pets. | expensive | J’ai acheté un tableau cher. – I bought an expensive painting. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | weak/poor | Le pauvre enfant ! – The poor child! | poor (not rich) | Elle a donné de l’argent aux gens pauvres. – She gave money to poor people. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | own | J’ai ma propre chambre. – I have my own bedroom. | clean | Nous avons une cuisine propre. – We have a clean kitchen. |
Adjectives that come before and after nouns - Mini quiz
Translate into English:
Elle a une voiture propre.
She has a clean car.
When propre is after the noun, it means ‘clean’.
Translate into English:
J’ai vu mon ancien collège hier.
I saw my old (former) school yesterday.
When ancien is before the noun, it means ‘former’.
Quiz - The position of adjectives
Practise what you've learned about the position of adjectives with this quiz.
Now you’ve learned about position of adjectives in French, why not explore possessive adjectives in French?
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