A1–A2 · Adjectives
French adjectives: agreement and place
English adjectives sit still: a green car, green cars, a green idea. French adjectives move. They take the gender and number of the noun, and most of them come after it. The ones that come before are a short, memorable gang.
They have to match
The adjective agrees with the noun, not with how you feel about it. Feminine often adds -e. Plural often adds -s. You do not pronounce every letter — but you still write them, and some endings do change the sound.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | un café froid | une pièce froide |
| Plural | des cafés froids | des pièces froides |
un petit problème
a small problem une petite pause
a short break You hear the extra t in petite. That is the feminine doing real work.
Elle est fatiguée.
She is tired. — extra -e, and you hear the last syllable
Most adjectives go after the noun
un train lent
a slow train — not “un lent train” une réunion importante
an important meeting un mail urgent
an urgent email
A small set comes before the noun. Teachers remember them as BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size. It is a crib, not a law, but it covers the ones you say every day.
Usually before the noun
| Idea | Examples |
|---|---|
| Beauty | beau, joli, vilain |
| Age | jeune, vieux, nouveau |
| Number | deux, premier, dernier |
| Goodness | bon, mauvais, gentil |
| Size | grand, petit, gros, long |
beau / bel / belle / beaux and vieux / vieil / vieille change shape before a vowel: un bel homme, un vieil ami.
When the place changes the meaning
Before
un ancien collège
a former school
ma propre chambre
my own room
After
un collège ancien
an old / historic school
une chambre propre
a clean room
Try this out loud
Describe three things in front of you. Force the agreement out loud.
une grande fenêtre
a large window
un café chaud
a hot coffee
des questions difficiles
difficult questions
Questions this page usually raises
Keep going
Next grammar pages — same English, next rule.
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The difference between le/la, un/une, and du/de la — the, a, and some — with examples you would actually say.
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Être, avoir, aller, faire
The four French verbs you cannot skip: to be, to have, to go, and to do — with full present forms and when to use each.
Read this resource
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