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.
In many languages, adjectives don't change shape for gender or number. That's exactly why learners keep forgetting that a French adjective must copy its noun's gender and number.
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 |
💡 Intuition: an adjective is the noun's shadow — feminine noun, the shadow adds e; plural noun, it adds s. However the noun moves, the adjective follows. 🏠 Memory aid: walk one adjective through four steps — petit → petite → petits → petites. Say those four and you have every form.
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.
⚠️ The trickiest rule: match BOTH gender and number — and watch the irregular feminines
An adjective must agree with its noun in gender and number at the same time — you can't skip either. Regular adjectives take the four-step path, but a batch of irregular feminines don't just add -e and must be memorised:
| Masc. | Fem. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. |
|---|---|---|---|
| petit | petite | petits | petites |
| beau | belle | beaux | belles |
| nouveau | nouvelle | nouveaux | nouvelles |
| vieux | vieille | vieux | vieilles |
| blanc | blanche | blancs | blanches |
| heureux | heureuse | heureux | heureuses |
| sportif | sportive | sportifs | sportives |
Exam reflex: check the noun's gender and number first, then pick the form — une belle voiture (not beau), des filles heureuses (not heureux).
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.