Adjectives That Come Before Nouns in French

Quick Answer

In French, most adjectives come after the noun. However, some adjectives come before the noun. They are called prenominal adjectives. In this article, you'll learn which adjectives are prenominal and how to use them!

Questions This Article Answers

What are prenominal adjectives?

Which adjectives come before the noun in French?

What does BRAGS mean?

What are some rules for French adjectives?

Which adjectives change meaning depending on their position?

Prenominal Adjectives

There are no clear rules that can help you determine whether an adjective must be placed before or after the noun. However, adjectives related to Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness, and Size tend to come before the noun. The acronym BRAGS can help you remember this! Let's take a look at some examples of prenominal adjectives in French

Prenominal Adjectives in French

Type	French	English
Beauty	un beau chien	a beautiful dog
Beauty	une jolie jupe	a pretty skirt
Beauty	un magnifique tableau	a gorgeous painting
Rank	le dernier épisode	the last episode
Rank	les premiers résultats	the first results
Age	les jeunes étudiants	the young students
Age	le vieux livre	the old book
Goodness	une bonne tarte	a good pie
Goodness	les gentils garçons	the nice boys
Size	l'énorme problème	the huge problem
Size	ma petite voiture	my small car

The placement of some of these adjectives can vary. For example, magnifique (gorgeous) can also come after the noun. So don't be surprised if you hear someone say Mon ami a un salon magnifique.(My friend has a gorgeous living room.)

Placement Can Change the Meaning

There are a few adjectives whose meaning changes depending on whether they come before or after a noun. It is important to remember them and to remember which meaning is associated with which position. Take a look at the most common adjectives that change their meaning in French in the table below!

Adjectives That Change Meaning in French

Adjective	Before Noun	After Noun
ancien	former	ancient
cher	dear, valued	expensive
curieux	strange	curious
grand	great	tall
propre	own	clean

Examples of Adjectives Used Before and After the Noun

Before Noun	After Noun
C'est un ancien footballeur. (He's a former soccer player.)	J'adore les civilisations anciennes. (I love ancient civilizations.)
Mon cher ami est en vacances. (My dear friend is on vacation.)	Elle n'achète que des vêtements chers. (She only buys expensive clothes.)
J'ai reçu une curieuse lettre. (I received a strange letter.)	Mon frère a un chien curieux. (My brother has a curious dog.)
C'est un grand homme. (He's a great man.)	C'est un homme grand. (He's a tall man.)
Je voudrais avoir mon propre appartement. (I'd like to have my own apartment.)	Je vis dans un appartement propre. (I live in a clean apartment.)

Prenominal Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux

These three prenominal adjectives end with a vowel sound in the masculine singular form. When they are followed by a noun that starts with a vowel sound, they will change slightly to avoid having two vowel sounds together.

Prenominal Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux in French

Masculine	Feminine	Masculine Before Vowel Sound	English
beau	belle	bel	beautiful
nouveau	nouvelle	nouvel	new
vieux	vieille	vieil	old

examples
C'est un très bel homme. He's a very handsome man.
Je dois acheter un nouvel ordinateur. I have to buy a new computer.
Ce vieil appareil ne marche plus. This old machine no longer works.

When Des Becomes De

When you use a prenominal adjective, the plural indefinite article des(no translation in English) becomes de(no translation in English). Nothing else changes.