In French, the main rule regarding the position of adjectives is that they usually come AFTER the noun, [see Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns (adjective position)], but as always in French, there are exceptions!
Here is a list of short and very common adjectives that go BEFORE the noun:
| Masculine and feminine forms | English |
| bon / bonne |
good |
| mauvais / mauvaise |
bad |
| beau / belle |
beautiful, handsome |
| joli / jolie |
pretty |
| vilain / vilaine |
ugly, nasty/naughty |
| jeune |
young |
| vieux / vieille |
old |
| grand / grande |
big, tall |
| petit / petite |
small, little |
| gros / grosse |
big, fat |
| faux / fausse |
false |
| bref / brève |
brief, short |
| long / longue |
long |
| haut / haute |
high |
| vaste |
vast |
| nouveau / nouvelle |
new |
Here are some examples with these adjectives:
ATTENTION:
As stated in Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns (adjective position), these adjectives will be AFTER the noun if :
- used with a long adverb (2 or more syllables) :
- followed by a "complementary" group introduced by a preposition (à, de, pour, comme,...):
These are not the only exceptions placed BEFORE the noun they refer to - see the more advanced lesson: Other adjectives that go BEFORE nouns
See also how beau, vieux and nouveau are different: Beau, nouveau, vieux, fou, mou have two masculine forms and one feminine form and Beau, nouveau, vieux have different plural forms for masculine and feminine (adjectives)
See also Adjectives usually go AFTER nouns (adjective position)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
"French Grammar: Adjective Positions" by Transparent French
un bon vin, mais un vin extrêmement bon
a good wine, but an extremely good wine
une haute barrière
a high fence
une brève réunion
a brief meeting
Sur le long chemin,
Tout blanc de neige blanche,
Un vieux monsieur s'avance,
On the long path,
All white with white snow,
An old man advances,
un vaste territoire
a vast land
une bonne voiture, mais une voiture bonne pour la casse
a good car, but a car only good for scrap
beau/belle (beautiful)
la belle fille
the beautiful girl
bon/bonne (good)
grand/grande (big)
nouveau/nouvelle (new)
la nouvelle voiture
the new car
petit/petite (small)
vieux/vieille (old)
Q&A
Grant
Kwiziq community member
20 April 2019
1 reply
When is joli rather than beau the right word to use?
I was taught that a bâtiment is 'joli' not 'beau'. Is there a reason or rule that explains which adjective to use for different things?
Marie
Kwiziq language super star
8/05/19
Hi Grant,
Great question! "Beau/belle" and "joli/jolie" have different meanings, the same way "beautiful" and "pretty" do in English.
"Beau/belle" = "beautiful", so you would use it for describing something that possesses gracious, elegant, qualities of undeniable beauty.
Here are a few examples:
"Le Louvre est un beau bâtiment" (The Louvre is a beautiful building)
"La belle plage de Sète" (The beautiful beach in Sète)
"Les belles roses dans le jardin" (The beautiful roses in the garden)
"Joli/jolie" = "pretty", so you would use it for describing something that possesses visually pleasant, attractive and delicate qualities.
Here are a few examples:
"Une jolie ferme à la campagne" (A pretty farmhouse in the countryside)
"Regarde mes jolies chaussures" (Look at my pretty shoes)
"C'est un joli service à thé" (This is a pretty tea set)
I hope this helps!
Sagar
Kwiziq community member
20 December 2018
1 reply
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Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
21/12/18
HISagar,
Can you report it via the Help and Support section as this is for language questions...
Chris
Kwiziq community member
21/11/18
The situation where adjectives are placed with respect to the noun is not clearcut in French. Some adjectives even change meaning depending on where they stand.
You can check here, for example: https://www.dummies.com/languages/french/how-to-place-of-french-adjectives-correctly/
Cindy
Kwiziq community member
22/11/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
9/04/18
Hi Steven, that's a great idea. Gives you a good handle on adjective placement.
-- Chris.
Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
14/04/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
24/02/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
11/01/18
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
5/09/18
Hi Alison,
That's a very good point but 'chaise longue' refers to a particular type of chair (between a chair and a bed) and is taken as meaning this particular item.
Normally long/longue would precede the noun as in:
C'était un long discours = It was a long speech
C'était un ami de longue date = It/He was a long standing friend
If you look at Steven's contribution at the end of the lesson, He suggests a useful acronym to remember the adjectives that normally come before the noun.
Hope this helps!
Ron
Kwiziq community member
19/11/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/11/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
13/03/17
Aaron
Kwiziq community member
17 June 2019
0 replies
Using "grand(e)" to describe people
Note that when "grand(e)" is used to describe people, different rules apply:
– un grand homme = a great man
– un homme grand = a tall man
– https://www.linguee.com/french-english/translation/grand+homme.html
– https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/un-grand-homme
I haven't yet found this distinction set out on Kwiziq, but on lawlessfrench.com we can compare the different treatment as between things and people on these two pages:
– https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/adjectives/
– https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/movable-adjectives/