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Position

French adjectives are usually placed after the noun which they describe
e.g. Le chien noir

However, there are some exceptions which go before the noun:

  1. Autre
  2. Beau
  3. Bon
  4. Grand
  5. Gros
  6. Haut
  7. Jeune
  8. Joli
  9. Long
  10. Mauvais
  11. Méchant
  1. Nouveau
  2. Petit
  3. Sot
  4. Vilain
  5. Vieux
  6. Ancien
  7. Vaste
  8. Dernier
  9. Prochain
  10. Premier

Formation / Agreement

Adjectives agree in gender and in number with the nouns they describe.

The general rule of agreement is:

M. S F. S F. PL M. PL
No change Add – e Add – es Add -s

e.g.      The little black dogs – Les petits chiens noirs
             The black dress – La robe noire
             The black dresses – Les robes noires
             The black pen – Le stylo noir

Exceptions to the above rule:

M.S F. S F. PL M. PL

-er

-ère

-ères

-ers

e.g. premier première premières premiers

-x

-se

-ses

-x

e.g. heureux heureuse heureuses heureux

-f

-ve

-ves

-fs

e.g. sportif sportive sportives sportifs

With adjectives ending in -el / -en / -et / -as / -os / -on / -eil, 

double the last letter and add ‘-e’

     

e.g.

naturel

moyen

gros

pareil

naturelle

moyenne

grosse

pareille

naturelles

moyennes

grosses

pareilles

naturels

moyens

gros

pareils

-c

-che

-ches

-cs

e.g. blanc blanche blanches blancs

-al

-ale

-ales

-aux

e.g. amical amicale amicales amicaux

Other exceptions to General Rule:

M.S. F.S. M. PL F. PL

Beau

Belle

Beaux

Belles

Nouveau

Nouvelle

Nouveaux

Nouvelles

Vieux

Vieille

Vieux

Vieilles

Roux

Rousse

Roux

Rousses

Fou

Folle

Fous

Folles

Mou

Molle

Mous

Molles

Long

Longue

Longs

Longues

Note 1:

There are 5 adjectives which have a special spelling if the noun they are describing is Masculine Singular and beginning with a vowel. These are the following:

Ordinary M.S M.S.  + Vowel All M. PL

Beau

Bel

Beaux

Nouveau

Nouvel

Nouveaux

Vieux

Vieil

Vieux

Fou

Fol

Fous

Mou

Mol

Mous

Dropping the last 2 letters from the F.S spelling e.g. un bel arbre, un nouvel élève, forms the new spellings
 

Note 2:

When the word ‘des’ directly precedes any of the list of adjectives which go before the noun, then ‘des’ becomes abbreviated to ‘de’ (or d’… if the next word begins with a vowel) e.g. de jeunes homes, de beaux arbres.