Adjective before/after noun

Chinwe A.A1Kwiziq community member

Adjective before/after noun

Bonjour,

Can I ask why the adjective in Maurice est un professeur excellent comes after the noun, while Vous êtes un mauvais avocat  comes before? Maurice est un professeur excellent doesn't fall within the 5 categories listed in this lesson- Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns in French (Position of Adjectives) 

Merci!

Asked 3 years ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Chinwe,

Chris's answer is correct. Most French adjectives go after the noun but there are exceptions too (typically French! ;-) ).

Here is the link that Chris mentioned: adjectives-adverbs

Also: - 'mauvais' -> placed after the noun as it is an adjective that is short - see link here: short-and-common-adjectives-that-go-before-the-noun

         - 'excellent' can be placed after (most common place) or before the noun ; just like a series of adjectives in French - see link here for further explanation: /l-adjectif-incroyable-devant-le-nom

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Adjectives in French mostly follow the noun but there are specific adjectives which precede it. There are several lessons in kwiziq which deal with adjectives. Here is a collection of lessons grouped by level:

French lessons on Adjectives & Adverbs (kwiziq.com)

P.S.: Sorry, but I cannot post working Links in this forum. Apparently they are not supported even though it would be very helpful.

Adjective before/after noun

Bonjour,

Can I ask why the adjective in Maurice est un professeur excellent comes after the noun, while Vous êtes un mauvais avocat  comes before? Maurice est un professeur excellent doesn't fall within the 5 categories listed in this lesson- Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns in French (Position of Adjectives) 

Merci!

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