Where adjectives go

In French, adjectives can appear before or after the noun they describe. Most adjectives follow the noun, but certain common adjectives are placed before it.

Adjective position can also affect meaning, spelling, articles, and pronunciation.

For adjectives whose meanings change depending on their position, see How adjective position changes meaning.

Adjectives after the noun

Most French adjectives appear after the noun they modify. This includes many adjectives describing color, shape, nationality, and other distinguishing characteristics. For color words, see Colors in French. For information on how the adjective agrees with the noun, see Adjective agreement.

The following examples illustrate adjectives placed after nouns.

These adjectives describe specific characteristics and generally follow the noun in neutral descriptions.

Adjectives before the noun

Some frequently used adjectives normally appear before the noun. These often express beauty, age, size, quality, or another general characteristic.

The following table presents common adjectives that usually precede nouns.

The following examples illustrate how these adjectives are placed before nouns.

Although these adjectives generally precede nouns, some can also appear after them with a different meaning or in particular constructions.

The adjective demi also has a special spelling rule. Before a noun, it is invariable and connected by a hyphen, as in une demi-heure (half an hour).

Numbers before the noun

Cardinal numbers indicate quantity, while ordinal numbers indicate position or order. Both generally appear before the noun.

The following examples illustrate their placement.

When a number and another adjective describe the same noun, the number generally comes first.

However, numbers used as labels or identifiers can follow the noun, as in la page trois (page three) or le chapitre deux (chapter two).

Premier, dernier, and prochain in a series

Premier, dernier, and prochain generally appear before the noun when referring to someone's or something's position in a sequence.

In these examples, premier, prochain, and dernier identify the order of people or things within a series.

Dernier and prochain with time expressions

Dernier and prochain generally appear after the noun when referring to the previous or following occurrence of a day, week, month, or other time period.

Position can change the meaning of these adjectives.

For example, la dernière semaine refers to the final week of a particular period, while la semaine dernière means last week relative to the present.

Bel, vieil, and nouvel before a vowel

The masculine singular adjectives beau, vieux, and nouveau have special forms when they appear immediately before a word beginning with a vowel or silent h.

The following table presents these forms.

The special forms are used to make pronunciation smoother. For information on the feminine forms belle, vieille, and nouvelle, see Irregular adjective forms.

Using the regular masculine forms directly before these nouns is incorrect.

These special forms do not apply before an aspirated h, as in un beau héros (a handsome hero).

Des becomes de before an adjective

In standard French, the indefinite plural article des generally becomes de when an adjective appears before a plural noun.

The following examples illustrate this change.

Compare these constructions with sentences in which the adjective follows the noun.

The form des is sometimes retained in informal speech and certain established expressions, such as des petits pois (peas). However, de is generally preferred in standard written French when an adjective precedes a plural noun.

This rule applies to the indefinite plural article des, not to des formed by combining de and les.

Liaison before the noun

When an adjective precedes a noun beginning with a vowel or silent h, the final consonant of the adjective is generally pronounced through liaison.

Liaison connects the final consonant sound of one word to the beginning of the next.

The following examples illustrate common liaison sounds.

These liaisons are normally required when the adjective directly precedes the noun.

Liaison does not occur before a consonant or aspirated h. For example, there is no liaison between the words in un petit garçon (a small boy).

From learning to practice

When reading or listening to French, notice which adjectives appear before or after nouns. Pay particular attention to combinations involving numbers, time expressions, and common adjectives such as beau, vieux, and nouveau.

Practice describing people, objects, and places using both adjective positions. Recognizing these patterns will help you form more natural sentences and understand how adjective placement affects meaning, grammar, and pronunciation.