Adjectives (Agreement & Position)
Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number; most follow the noun, but BAGS adjectives precede it. Some change meaning by position.
1. Agreement — adjectives follow the noun
A French adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
| Form | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masc. sing. | base form | un grand garçon |
| Fem. sing. | usually + e | une grande fille |
| Masc. pl. | usually + s | des grands garçons |
| Fem. pl. | + es | des grandes filles |
Common irregular feminine endings:
| Masc. → Fem. | Example |
|---|---|
| -eux → -euse | heureux → heureuse |
| -if → -ive | actif → active |
| -er → -ère | cher → chère |
| -el / -eil / -en / -on / -et → double consonant + e | bon → bonne, gentil → gentille |
| -teur → -trice | créateur → créatrice |
| -c → -che / -que | blanc → blanche, public → publique |
Adjectives already ending in -e (jeune, rouge, facile) don't change in the feminine.
2. Position — default is after the noun
Unlike English, most French adjectives come after the noun:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| une voiture rouge | a red car |
| un livre intéressant | an interesting book |
| un étudiant canadien | a Canadian student |
Always after the noun:
- Colors: rouge, bleu, vert, noir…
- Nationality / religion: français, chinois, musulman…
- Shapes: rond, carré, long…
- Longer adjectives (3+ syllables): intéressant, magnifique, intelligent…
- Past-participle adjectives: fatigué, cassé…
3. Before the noun — the BAGS rule
A small group of short, frequent, subjective adjectives goes before the noun. Mnemonic: BAGS.
- Beauty: beau, joli, mauvais
- Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau, ancien (= former)
- Goodness: bon, mauvais, gentil
- Size: grand, petit, gros, long, haut, court
Also pre-nominal: autre, même, vrai, tel, faux, premier, dernier, prochain.
| Examples |
|---|
| une belle maison |
| un petit chat |
| un bon restaurant |
| la première fois |
4. Irregular pre-nominal forms
beau / nouveau / vieux become bel / nouvel / vieil before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h, to avoid hiatus:
| Masc. + consonant | Masc. + vowel | Fem. | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| beau garçon | bel ami | belle fille | beaux / belles |
| nouveau livre | nouvel ordinateur | nouvelle voiture | nouveaux / nouvelles |
| vieux monsieur | vieil homme | vieille dame | vieux / vieilles |
5. Meaning changes with position
Some adjectives shift meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun:
| Adjective | Before (figurative / subjective) | After (literal / objective) |
|---|---|---|
| ancien | mon ancien prof = my former teacher | un livre ancien = an antique book |
| propre | ma propre voiture = my own car | une voiture propre = a clean car |
| grand | un grand homme = a great man | un homme grand = a tall man |
| pauvre | le pauvre garçon = the poor (pitiable) boy | un garçon pauvre = a poor (penniless) boy |
| cher | mon cher ami = my dear friend | un livre cher = an expensive book |
| seul | la seule raison = the only reason | une femme seule = a woman alone |
| dernier | le dernier mois = the last (final) month | le mois dernier = last month |
| prochain | le prochain train = the next train | l'année prochaine = next year |
Rule of thumb: before = abstract / subjective / relational; after = literal / objective / descriptive.
6. Multiple adjectives at once
Each adjective follows its own rule — BAGS in front, the rest after.
| Example | Breakdown |
|---|---|
| une belle voiture rouge | belle before (B) + rouge after (color) |
| un petit chat noir | petit before (S) + noir after (color) |
| un vieux livre français intéressant | vieux before (A) + français/intéressant after |
Two adjectives on the same side of the noun are joined with et:
- un homme grand et fort
- une robe rouge et blanche
7. TCF exam tips
- Right form, wrong position is the most common distractor in TCF reading fill-ins. un rouge livre / une intelligente fille → eliminate.
- Colors / nationalities / shapes are always after the noun.
- When you see cher / ancien / propre / grand, check the position before picking the translation.
- bel / vieil / nouvel are only for masculine singular + vowel — don't carry them into the feminine.