Basic French Adjectives

Quick Answer

In French, adjectives are used to give information about a noun. Adjectives are often descriptive and provide details about things like appearance, character, or quality, or they may have other uses, like indicating possession.

No matter the use, keep in mind that French adjectives usually agree in number and gender with the noun they describe and that there are specific rules about where adjectives go in a phrase or sentence.

examples
Voici une grande maison jaune. Here's a big yellow house.
Mes amies sont intelligentes et drôles. My friends are intelligent and funny.

examples

Voici une grande maison jaune.

Here's a big yellow house.

Mes amies sont intelligentes et drôles.

My friends are intelligent and funny.

Questions This Article Answers

What are adjectives and how are they used in French?

What do I need to know about agreement and placement of adjectives in French?

How do I make an adjective agree with a noun in French?

Do I put the adjective before or after the noun in French?

What are the different types of French adjectives?

What is an adjective phrase and how do I use one in French?

What are some simple French adjectives?

What is the difference between a predicative adjective and an attributive adjective?

What are invariable French adjectives?

What Is an Adjective?

In French, as in English, les adjectifs(adjectives) are most commonly used to give descriptive information about a noun: its appearance, quality, quantity, character, or state. Nouns are people, places, things, animals, ideas, or even actions. When describing a person, for example, you could use adjectives to talk about their height, their hair color, their personality, their nationality, or how they are feeling.

examples
Henri est grand et blond. Henri is tall and blond.
C'est un gars énergique et amusant. He's an energetic and funny guy.
Ses parents sont belges. His parents are Belgian.

Do you want to brush up on your knowledge of French nouns? Check out the following article!

French Nouns

How to Use Adjectives in French

Sentence Type 1: Subject + Être+ Adjective(s)

In French, you can give information about someone or something by using it as the subject of the verb être(to be) followed by one or more adjectives. Adjectives linked to a subject by a verb are called predicative adjectives. In sentences like those shown below, the adjective(s) modify the subject of the verb and agree with it in number and gender (with some exceptions, of course!). We’ll talk about agreement of adjectives below, but here are some examples of how to use adjectives with être.

examples
Tu es gentil et optimiste. You're nice and optimistic.
Sophie est nerveuse. Sophie is nervous.
Le fromage est bon. The cheese is good.
Nous sommes fatigués We are tired.
Les valises sont vertes. The suitcases are green.

As you can see, the subject can be a common noun, a subject pronoun, or a proper noun. All of the examples above use être in the present tense, but you can use the être + adjective construction in other verb tenses as well. This construction can also be used with other stative verbs, which are verbs that are used to describe a state or characteristic of a noun.

What Are Stative Verbs in French?

The verb être is the most common verbe d'état(stative verb) in French. Stative verbs are used to describe a characteristic, state, or condition of a subject. Other common stative verbs include devenir(to become), sembler(to seem), and rester(to remain).

Sentence Type 2: Placing Adjectives Next to a Noun in French

You can also add information to a noun in a sentence in French by placing one or more adjectives next to the noun. Adjectives placed next to a noun are called attributive adjectives. Again, the adjectives should agree in number and gender with the noun they are modifying (with some exceptions we'll talk about later). Typically, adjectives in French come after the noun, but sometimes they precede the noun. We’ll discuss agreement and the placement of adjectives below, but here are a few examples using adjectives next to a noun in a sentence.

examples
J'adore les bons fromages français. I love good French cheeses.
Nous cherchons nos valises vertes. We're looking for our green suitcases.
Le professeur est un petit homme roux. The professor is a short, red-headed man.
C'est une suggestion intéressante et originale. That's an interesting and original suggestion.

Agreement of Adjectives in French

How to Make an Adjective Agree in Gender in French

French nouns can be masculine or feminine (i.e., they have grammatical gender) and singular or plural (i.e., they have grammatical number). When a noun is modified by an adjective, that adjective must match the noun in both gender and number. Most of the time, when we learn a new adjective from a textbook or dictionary, we encounter the masculine singular form: grand(big or tall), heureux(happy), vert(green), intelligent(intelligent). So if you are modifying a masculine singular noun, you can just use that form. If your noun is feminine or plural (or feminine plural!), you will most likely need to alter the adjective to match it.

Main Rules for Feminine Agreement of French Adjectives

Rule	Masculine	Feminine	English
1. The main rule: add an -e	vert	verte	green
2. Double the last consonant and add an -e	bon	bonne	good
3. Don't change anything	jeune	jeune	young
4. The final consonant or syllable changes	heureux	heureuse	happy
5. The adjective changes quite a bit	beau	belle	beautiful
6. Some adjectives never change	marron	marron	brown

Invariable Adjectives in French

Invariable adjectives are adjectives that never change spelling (see Rule #6 above)! They don't agree in number or in gender. Adjectives that are derived from nouns are truly invariable. Take a look at the following examples, which use abricot(apricot color).

examples
un chapeau abricot an apricot hat
des robes abricot some apricot dresses

examples

un chapeau abricot

an apricot hat

des robes abricot

some apricot dresses

Adjectives that are abbreviations, like sympa(nice), or loan words from other languages, like fun(fun), can also be invariable. For example: une amie sympa(a nice friend), des spectacles fun(some fun shows).

By now, you know there are always exceptions to the rules! To learn all of the rules about gender agreement and see more examples of feminine adjectives, check out the following articles!

Feminine Adjectives in French

Colors in French

How to Make an Adjective Agree in Number in French

To make an adjective agree in number with a plural noun, whether masculine plural or feminine plural, there are some main rules you can follow.

Main Rules for Plural Agreement of French Adjectives

Rule	Singular	Plural	English
1. The main rule: add an -s	intelligent	intelligents	intelligent
2. When -eau becomes -eaux	nouveau	nouveaux	new
3. When -al becomes -aux	génial	géniaux	awesome
4. If the adjective ends with either an -s or an -x, don't change anything	heureux	heureux	happy
5. Some adjectives never change	marron	marron	brown

To learn more details about how to make adjectives agree in the plural, dive into this article!

Plural Adjectives in French

Placement of Adjectives in French

As shown above, you can modify a noun in a sentence by putting your adjective either before or after the noun. But watch out, there are specific rules about what goes where!

Rule 1. The Main Rule: Most Adjectives Come After the Noun in French

Generally, when placing an adjective in a sentence next to a noun, the adjective comes after the noun in French.

examples
Je porte une chemise bleue. I’m wearing a blue shirt.
Tu as un sofa confortable. You have a comfortable sofa.

Rule 2. Some Adjectives Precede the Noun in French

There are a number of adjectives in French that typically precede the noun they are modifying. These are called prenominal adjectives.

examples
C’est un bon film. It’s a good movie.
J’ai une nouvelle voiture. I have a new car.

Rule 3. Some Adjectives Can Be Placed Either Before or After the Noun in French!

Some adjectives can be placed either before or after the noun, but be careful because their meaning changes depending on their position in the sentence!

examples
C’est mon ancien prof d’histoire. That’s my former history professor.
Voilà un château ancien qui date du quinzième siècle. There’s an ancient castle built in the fifteenth century.

Keep this rule in mind if you don't want to call your former history professor "ancient" by mistake!

Want to know which adjectives are prenominal adjectives and find out more about those strange adjectives that change meaning based on placement? Check out this article!

Adjectives That Come Before Nouns in French

Some Common Descriptive Adjectives in French

Here are some common French adjectives you can use to describe people, animals, things, or places!

Examples of Age Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
âgé	âgée	elderly
jeune	jeune	young
nouveau	nouvelle	new
vieux	vieille	old

examples
J’ai une nouvelle voiture. I have a new car.
Notre professeur d'histoire est jeune. Our history teacher is young.

Examples of Beauty Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
beau	belle	beautiful
joli	jolie	pretty
mignon	mignonne	cute
moche	moche	ugly

examples
Vos enfants sont très mignons. Your children are very cute.
Ces fleurs sont jolies ! These flowers are pretty!

Examples of Character Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
ambitieux	ambitieuse	ambitious
bavard	bavarde	talkative
calme	calme	calm
drôle	drôle	funny
gentil	gentille	nice
méchant	méchante	mean
paresseux	paresseuse	lazy
sportif	sportive	athletic
timide	timide	shy

examples
Mes amis sont gentils et drôles. My friends are nice and funny.
Je suis un peu paresseux. I'm a little lazy.
Ta tante est très bavarde. Your aunt is very talkative.

Examples of Color Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
blanc	blanche	white
bleu	bleue	blue
jaune	jaune	yellow
noir	noire	black
rouge	rouge	red
vert	verte	green

examples
Monique porte un pull rouge et une jupe noire. Monique’s wearing a red sweater and a black skirt.
Le ciel est si bleu aujourd'hui. The sky is so blue today.

Examples of Feeling Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
énergique	énergique	energetic
fâché	fâchée	angry
fatigué	fatiguée	tired
heureux	heureuse	happy
malade	malade	sick
triste	triste	sad

examples
Nous sommes très fatigués ce matin. We’re very tired this morning.
Pourquoi est-ce que Sandrine est fâchée ? Why is Sandrine angry?

Examples of Size Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
grand	grande	big or tall
gros	grosse	fat
mince	mince	thin
moyen	moyenne	medium
petit	petite	small or short

examples
Ton chien est grand et gros. Your dog is big and fat.
Mon patron est un petit homme mince. My boss is a short, thin man.

Examples of Quality Adjectives in French

Masculine Form	Feminine Form	English
bon	bonne	good
excellent	excellente	excellent
mauvais	mauvaise	bad
terrible	terrible	terrible

examples
C'est une bonne question. That's a good question.
Je pense que ce restaurant est excellent. I think that this restaurant is excellent.

Adjective Phrases in French

An adjective phrase is a group of words that's used to modify a noun. Some common adjective phrases in French are: au grand cœur(big-hearted), de taille moyenne(of average height), and de bonne qualité(good quality). Phrases like these usually come after the noun they are modifying and are set phrases that do not change based on the gender or number of the noun.

examples
Ma collègue est une femme au grand cœur. My colleague is a big-hearted woman.
Joseph est un homme de taille moyenne. Joseph’s a man of average height.
J’achète des vêtements de bonne qualité. I buy good-quality clothes.

examples

Ma collègue est une femme au grand cœur.

My colleague is a big-hearted woman.

Joseph est un homme de taille moyenne.

Joseph’s a man of average height.

J’achète des vêtements de bonne qualité.

I buy good-quality clothes.

Other Types of Adjectives in French

There are other types of adjectives that you will likely encounter in your studies of French. Some very common ones are demonstrative adjectives, interrogative adjectives, and possessive adjectives. All of these other types of adjectives typically precede the noun they are modifying. Check out the tables below for examples of each type!

French Demonstrative Adjectives

French	English	Example	Gender and Number
ce	this or that	J’aime ce livre. (I like this book.)	Masculine singular
cet	this or that	J’aime cet acteur. (I like this actor.)	Masculine singular in front of a vowel or a silent h
cette	this or that	J’aime cette robe. (I like that dress.)	Feminine singular
ces	these or those	J’aime ces livres. (I like these books.)	Plural

French Interrogative Adjectives

French	English	Example	Gender and Number
quel	which	Quel livre préfères-tu ? (Which book do you prefer?)	Masculine singular
quelle	which	Quelle robe préfères-tu ? (Which dress do you prefer?)	Feminine singular
quels	which	Quels livres préfères-tu ? (Which books do you prefer?)	Masculine plural
quelles	which	Quelles robes préfères-tu ? (Which dresses do you prefer?)	Feminine plural

French Possessive Adjectives

French possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun being possessed. For example, here's how my is expressed in French:

French	English	Example	Gender and Number
mon	my	Voici mon livre !(Here is my book!)	Masculine singular
ma	my	Voici ma robe !(Here is my dress!)	Feminine singular
mes	my	Voici mes livres !(Here are my books!)	Plural