Certain adjectives change their meanings depending if they appear before or after the noun.
Here's the case of ancien:
L'ancienne maison où j'habitais
The former house where I lived
La maison ancienne où j'habite
The old house where I live
After the noun it means ancient / old
Remember that generally adjectives appear after the noun, but some very common adjectives go before (See Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns (adjective position) and Short and common adjectives that go BEFORE nouns (adjective position))
See also:
Propre = own / clean (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Cher= dear / expensive (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Certain = specific / sure (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Dernier = final / previous (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Vrai = real / true (adjectives that change meaning according to position)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Q&A Forum 4 questions, 12 answers
Ma voiture ancienne
Ma voiture ancienne
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Hi James ,
'Ancienne' in your example means former/previous so you might say .
"Dans mon ancienne maison j'avais cinq chambres "= In my previous/former house I had five bedrooms.
In my opinion, if you say: "Dans ma dernière maison", it sounds as if you are a serial mover and it is the last one in a long list ...
Hope this helps!
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But it could be an old computer and not an ex computer which might even be a new computerw
Well, it could be a lot of things, I guess. The point being to demonstrate the change in meaning ancien has when going before or after the noun.
-- Chris.
But it could be an old computer and not an ex computer which might even be a new computerw
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Susan suggested a great mnemonic to remember this lesson !
When beFore a word, it means Former.
Not the most graceful mnemonic in the world, but it helped until I had mastered the difference."
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