Adjectives

Question 1

Adjectives that refer to some specific qualities must precede the noun they describe instead of following it. The qualities they describe can be summarized by the acronym BAGS:

B for beauty: beau (beautiful), joli (pretty)

A for age: jeune (young), vieux (old), nouveau (new)

G for goodness: bon (good), meilleur (better), mauvais (bad), gentil (kind)

S for size: petit (small), haut (high), gros (fat)

Answer 1

A handful of adjectives that refer to the qualities contained in the BAGS are not placed before the noun. In the category of beauty, exceptions are laid (ugly) and affreux(atrocious); in age, âgé (old); and in the category of goodness, méchant (mean).

Question 2

Ordinal adjectives — that is, adjectives that describe the order in which things come, like first, second, last — appear before nouns.

Answer 2

Le premier jour de la semaine est lundi. (The first day of the week is Monday.)

Nous vivons au vingt-et-unième siècle. (We live in the twenty-first century.)

C’est la deuxième fois qu’il fait une erreur. (It is the second time that he makes a mistake.)

Question 3

The adjective tout (all, every) precedes not just the noun but also the article + noun. Here are examples for all four forms of tout (masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural):

Answer 3

Elle mange tout le temps. (She eats all the time.)

Il a plu toute la journée. (It rained all day.)

Tu travailles tous les jours. (You work every day.)

Toutes les filles de la classe sont blondes. (All the girls of the class are blond.)

Question 4

The adjectives autre (other), même (same), tel (such), and faux (false, untrue) also go before nouns.

Answer 4

Je voudrais voir un autre film. (I’d like to see another movie.)

une fausse sortie (a false exit)

Question 5

Some adjectives can go before or after the noun, depending what they mean.

For a literal meaning, place the adjective after the noun.

For a more figurative meaning, you place it before.

Answer 5

Adjective Before Noun After Noun

ancien former antique, old

certain some sure

cher dear expensive

dernier final previous/last (in expressions of time)

grand(for people) great tall

pauvre wretched, miserable poor, broke

prochain next (in a sequence) next/following

propre (my) own clean

seul only alone

simple mere simple