An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. It normally agrees with the noun it modifies. Adjectives may occur next to the noun (before or after) or separated from the noun in the second part of a sentence, e.g. after a verb such as être, devenir, rester. Adjectives may sometimes have complements.
Most French adjectives follow the noun. But there is a small set which normally precede, and another set which regularly appear before and after the noun, often with a change of meaning.
Since the majority of French adjectives normally follow the noun, English speakers really only need to learn those which can precede. However, here are some typical classes of adjectives which almost always follow the noun:
bleu, gris, vert, blanc, noir, violet, etc.:
| un manteau gris | une souris grise |
| a grey coat | a grey mouse |
| un gazon vert | une veste verte |
| a green lawn | a green jacket |
| un nuage noir | une robe noire |
| a black cloud | a black dress |
français ‘French’, britannique ‘British’, américain ‘American’, grec ‘Greek’, tunisien ‘Tunisian’, etc.:
| un livre français | de la bière française |
| a French book | French beer |
| du vin algérien | une ville algérienne |
| Algerian wine | an Algerian town |
| du fromage grec | une antiquité grecque |
| Greek cheese | a Greek antique |
NB: Adjectives of nationality in French begin with a small letter, unlike English. When français, britannique, etc., are used as nouns, however, they begin with a capital letter. Compare: Elle est française ‘She is French’ with C’est une Française ‘She is a Frenchwoman’. (See also 4.5 and Chapter 3.1.22.)
rond ‘round’, carré ‘square’, rectangulaire ‘rectangular’, oval ‘oval’, etc.:
| un bureau carré | une boîte carrée |
| a square desk | a square box |
| un plateau rond | une table ronde |
| a round tray | a round table |
| un cadre rectangulaire | une cour rectangulaire |
| a rectangular frame | a rectangular courtyard |
anglican ‘Anglican’, catholique ‘Catholic’, musulman ‘Muslim’, protestant ‘Protestant’, orthodoxe ‘Orthodox’, juif ‘Jewish’, etc.:
| un prêtre catholique | une jeune fille catholique |
| a Catholic priest | a Catholic girl |
| un père juif | une mère juive |
| a Jewish father | a Jewish mother |
| un garçon musulman | une jeune fille musulmane |
| a Muslim boy | a Muslim girl |
| une église médiévale | a medieval church |
| une ambiance citadine | an urban atmosphere |
| un paysage rural | a rural landscape |
| un accent campagnard | a rustic accent |
| un mariage forcé | une grille rouillée |
| a forced marriage | a rusty gate |
| un élève brillant | une étoile brillante |
| a brilliant pupil | a brilliant star |
| un voyage fatigant | une voiture puissante |
| a tiring journey | a powerful car |
NB: Present participles, which are formed by adding -ant to the first person plural stem of a verb (e.g. amus-ons/amusant, ralentiss-ons/ralentissant, dev-ons/devant, etc.), can function both as a verb in a subordinate clause, and as an adjective. As verbs in subordinate clauses present participles are invariable (see Chapter 17.9.2):
As adjectives they agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, as in the examples above: une étoile brillante (see Chapter 17.9.1).
A number of present participles are also spelled differently when they function as verbs in subordinate clauses, and when they are adjectives. Some common cases are:
| Verb in subordinate clause | |
| convainquant | convincing |
| différant | differing |
| équivalant | being equivalent to |
| fatiguant | tiring |
| négligeant | neglecting |
| précédant | preceding |
| Adjective | |
| convaincant | convincing |
| différent | different |
| équivalent | equivalent |
| fatigant | tiring |
| négligent | negligent |
| précédent | previous |
| autre | une autre histoire | another story |
| beau/bel/belle | un bel homme | a good-looking man |
| bon/bonne | un bon professeur | a good teacher |
| bref/brève | un bref épisode | a brief episode |
| double | un double whisky | a double whisky |
| haut/e | de hautes montagnes | high mountains |
| joli/e | une jolie femme | a pretty woman |
| mauvais/e | une mauvaise odeur | a bad smell |
| nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle | une nouvelle maison | a new house |
| petit/e | un petit problème | a small problem |
| vaste | une vaste enceinte | a vast arena |
| vieux/vieil/vieille | un vieux château | an old castle |
The meaning given to a certain number of adjectives when they occur after a noun and when they occur after the verb être is the same:
But when these adjectives occur before the noun the meaning is different. Compare:
When adjectives occur before the noun they tend to contribute to the meaning of the noun itself. So, un ancien soldat is an ‘ex-soldier’ rather than a soldier who is old; un gros fumeur is not ‘a fat smoker’, but ‘a heavy smoker’ (un fumeur gros is ‘a fat smoker’).
Common adjectives which have different meanings when they precede or follow nouns are:
| ancien | un ancien élève | an old boy/girl i.e. (ex-) pupil |
| une maison ancienne | an old house | |
| brave | un brave type | a nice guy |
| un homme brave | a courageous man | |
| certain | d’un certain âge | middle-aged |
| une vérité certaine | a certain truth | |
| cher | mon cher ami | my dear friend |
| une robe chère | an expensive dress | |
| chic | un chic type (rather old-fashioned now; one is more likely to hear: un mec sympa) | a nice guy |
| une robe chic | a smart dress | |
| curieux | une curieuse histoire | an odd story |
| une personne curieuse | an inquisitive person | |
| dernier | son dernier livre | his last book (latest) |
| la semaine dernière | last week | |
| drôle | une drôle d’histoire | an odd story |
| une histoire drôle | a funny story | |
| fameux | ton fameux problème | the problem you keep on going on about |
| un vin fameux | a delicious wine | |
| franc | une franche idiote | a real idiot |
| une personne franche | a frank person | |
| grand | un grand homme | a great man |
| un homme grand | a tall man | |
| gros | un gros effort | a big effort |
| un homme gros | a fat man | |
| jeune | une jeune femme | a young woman |
| une femme jeune | a woman who is not old | |
| méchant | une méchante histoire | a nasty business |
| une fille méchante | an unpleasant girl | |
| même | toujours les mêmes histoires | always the same stories/problems |
| le jour même | that very day | |
| pauvre | un pauvre homme | a man you feel sorry for |
| un homme pauvre | a man who isn’t rich | |
| propre | ma propre chambre | my own bedroom |
| une serviette propre | a clean towel | |
| pure | une pure illusion | a complete illusion |
| de race pure | pure bred | |
| rare | un rare moment de paix | a precious moment of peace |
| un moment rare de l’histoire | an exceptional moment in history | |
| sale | une sale histoire | a nasty business |
| une nappe sale | a dirty tablecloth | |
| seul | le seul inconvénient . . . | the only disadvantage . . . |
| un homme seul | a lonely man | |
| simple | une simple question de . . . | simply a matter of . . . |
| une question simple | an easy question | |
| triste | une triste histoire | a sorry story |
| une histoire triste | a sad story | |
| véritable | un véritable problème | a real problem (serious) |
| un problème véritable | a genuine problem (not invented) | |
| vert | une verte réprimande | a real dressing-down |
| une voiture verte | a green car | |
| vilain | une vilaine action | a bad deed |
| un enfant vilain | an ugly (or naughty) child |
NB: neuf and nouveau. Ma voiture neuve is likely to be ‘my brand new car’ (not second- hand), while ma nouvelle voiture is a car which is different from the one I had before (it may or may not be ‘brand new’). feu ‘late, deceased’ can be used in two ways: feu la reine/la feue reine. Both mean ‘the late queen’, but note that in the first case feu does not agree with reine. Usually limited to legal papers.
Most adjectives which normally follow the noun can occur before it as well, without a significant change in the meaning of the adjective. Such pre-positioning is usually for stylistic effect: to vary sentence structure or avoid having two or more adjectives following the same noun. The position before the noun is favoured where the adjective in some way measures or quantifies the meaning of the noun:
| un léger rhume | a slight cold |
| une charmante soirée | a delightful evening |
| une forte odeur | a strong smell |
| un misérable repas | a measly meal |
| une importante augmentation | a large increase |
Cardinal numbers are usually the first in any combination of adjectives preceding a noun, but after that the order of adjectives is the same as it is in English:
| les deux premières semaines | the first two weeks |
| les quatre dernières jolies phrases | the last four pretty sentences |
| au bon vieux temps | in the good old days |
| une autre nouvelle maison | another new house |
| un vrai beau grand château | a really beautiful large castle |
| ce pauvre cher homme | that poor dear man |
The exception to cardinal numbers occurring first is when a complex number is involved:
To avoid having a long string of adjectives before the noun, one or more may be combined with et, and/or moved after the noun. To illustrate, ‘a young pretty little cat’ could be:
The order of adjectives after the noun is the mirror image of English. For example, ‘the Spanish Civil War’ becomes ‘the War Civil Spanish’:
Similarly (these examples are from Waugh, 1977):
| des lignes parallèles invisibles | invisible parallel lines |
| des milieux politiques américains | American political circles |
| des feuilles mortes | humides damp dead leaves |
| un agent commercial français | a French business agent |
When adjectives which normally precede the noun are modified by adverbs or prepositional phrases, they may appear after the noun. The longer the modifying expression, the more likely this is:
| un bel homme | a handsome man |
| un très bel homme | a very handsome man |
| un homme vraiment beau | a really handsome man |
| un gros effort | a great effort |
| un effort démesurément gros | an inordinately large effort |
| une jolie figure | a pretty face |
| une figure un peu trop jolie | a face which is a bit too pretty |
| un grand jardin | a large garden |
| un jardin grand comme un | a garden the size of your hand |
| mouchoir de poche |
This also applies to superlatives (see 4.12.2):
| un bref aperçu | a brief outline |
| le plus bref aperçu | the briefest outline |
| un aperçu des plus brefs | the briefest of outlines |
When nouns are quantified by numbers, following adjectives may directly follow the noun or they may be preceded by de. The use with de is found in informal French. For a number of speakers there is a difference in meaning between the two. When de is present, the implication is that there were more of the things described by the noun than the number indicates:
Note that the contrast in English is captured by whether the adjective precedes or follows the noun.
Some verbs and verbal expressions can be followed by adjectives. With the following verbs/ verbal expressions, adjectives must agree in number and gender with the subject:
| avoir l'air | to seem, appear |
| être | to be |
| être considéré comme | to be thought of as |
| devenir | to become |
| se montrer | to show oneself to be |
| paraître | to appear |
| passer pour | to be considered to be |
| sembler | to seem |
With the following verbs, mainly those which express an opinion, adjectives must agree in number and gender with the direct object:
| croire | to believe |
| considérer | to consider |
| deviner | to guess |
| imaginer | to imagine |
| s'imaginer | to imagine oneself |
| traiter qn de | to call sb sth |
| trouver | to find |
| voir | to see |
| se voir | to see oneself |
Some adjectives can be followed by nouns, pronouns or infinitives, with a linking de or à:
(For the use of de with adjectives followed by nouns see Chapter 13.15.2; and followed by infinitives see Chapter 12.7.)
Indefinite noun phrases such as quelque chose ‘something’, quelqu’un ‘someone’, ceci ‘this’, cela ‘that’, quoi? ‘what?’, and negative expressions such as rien ‘nothing’, personne ‘no-one’, can be followed by adjectives linked by de. The adjective is invariable in this construction:
| quelque chose de bon | something good |
| quelqu'un d'intéressant | someone interesting |
| rien de plus facile | nothing easier |
| Quoi de neuf? | What's new? |
In French it is almost always possible to convert an adjective into a noun sim ply by placing an article in front of it:
| Je ne veux que les mûrs | I only want the ripe ones |
| Nous prendrons les grands | We'll take the big ones |
| Les petits sont déjà partis | The small ones have already gone |
| Les gentils gagnent à la fin | The goodies win in the end |
| Les méchants sont punis | The baddies are punished |
| J'adore le rustique | I love rural styles |
| Elle aurait préféré du moderne | She would have preferred something up-to-date |
| Le plus énervant, c'est sa voix | It's her voice that is the most annoying thing |
| Le rouge te va bien | Red suits you |
| L'important c'est de partir tôt | The important thing is to leave early |
As can be seen, because English does not permit the creation of nouns with such freedom, translations either have to use vague terms like ‘ones’, ‘thing(s)’ or it is necessary to rephrase the sentence.
NB: Compare the post-verbal use of adjectives as nouns with the post-verbal use of numbers and quantifiers as nouns:
| Nous prendrons les grands | We'll take the big ones |
| Nous en prendrons deux | We'll take two |
| Nous avons acheté les ovales | We bought the oval ones |
| Nous en avons acheté plusieurs | We bought several |
With numbers and quantifiers en must be inserted in front of the verb (see Chapter 3.2.25 and Chapter 6.1.7).
Adjectives of nationality and nouns of nationality are usually identical in form when used as adjectives or nouns EXCEPT that the nouns are written with capital letters:
| Elle est américaine | C'est une Américaine |
| She is American | She is an American |
| Tout Français qui se respecte aime | Every true French person loves |
| le fromage | cheese |
| Elle est de nationalité française | She is of French nationality |
A limited number of adjectives can also be used as adverbs. In this case they are invariable (see also Chapter 5.3):
| bas | Ils parlent bas | They're talking very quietly |
| bon | Le café sent bon | The coffee smells good |
| cher | Cela coûte trop cher | That's too expensive |
| clair | Je n'arrive pas à y voir clair dans son raisonnement | I can't make much sense of his argument |
| droit | Ils marchent droit | They are walking straight |
| dur | Ils travaillent dur | They work hard |
| faux | Elles chantent faux | They sing out of tune |
| fin | Il faut couper le jambon très fin | You must slice the ham very thinly |
| fort | Ils parlent trop fort | They're talking too loudly |
| grand | Ils ont vu trop grand | They attempted too much |
| jeune | Ils s'habillent jeune | They dress in a youthful manner |
| juste | Tu as vu juste dès le début | You understood from the beginning |
| lourd | Cet acte pèse lourd sur ma conscience | That act weighs heavily on my conscience |
| menu | de la viande hachée menu | meat cut up finely |
| vieux | Ils font vieux | They look old |
A few adverbs are used as adjectives as in:
In these cases the adverb/adjective is always invariable.
The general rule is that an - e is added to the masculine written form of adjectives to produce the feminine form.
In cases where the masculine form ends in one of the following vowels or consonants, there is a change in the written form but not in the spoken form:
| Masculine | Feminine | ||
| -u | absolu | absolue | absolute |
| aigu | aiguë | high (sound) | |
| ambigu | ambiguë | ambiguous | |
| contigu | contiguë | contiguous |
NB: In the case of aigu, ambigu, contigu, a diaresis (ë) is added to the feminine -e in written French to indicate that the -u sound is maintained in spoken French (aigue* would be pronounced rather like English ‘egg’ otherwise; compare long/longue).
| -é | fermé | fermée | closed |
| -er | fier | fière | proud |
| cher | chère | expensive | |
| amer | amère | bitter |
NB: In these cases, where the final r is pronounced in the masculine, a grave accent is added to the first written e.
| -i | hardi | hardie | bold |
| NB: Exception: | favori | favorite | favourite |
| -c | public | publique | public |
| turc | turque | Turkish | |
| NB: c is maintained in: | grec | grecque | Greek |
| -ct | direct | directe | direct |
| -r | sûr | sûre | certain |
| pur | pure | pure | |
| -al | national | nationale | national |
| général | générale | general | |
| hivernal | hivernale | winter | |
| final | finale | final | |
| -el | personnel | personnelle | personal |
| professionnel | professionnelle | professional | |
| passionnel | passionnelle | emotive | |
| cruel | cruelle | cruel | |
| -ul | nul | nulle | no-good |
NB: In these cases, it is -le which is added and not just -e.
| -ol | espagnol | espagnole | Spanish |
| -il | puéril | puérile | childish |
| civil | civile | civil |
NB: In these cases, the l is pronounced in the masculine.
By contrast in the following adjectives the final -il is pronounced as indicated:
| gentil [-i] | gentille [-ij] | kind |
| pareil [-ej] | pareille [-ej] | similar |
| vermeil [-ej] | vermeille [-ej] | bright red |
In the following cases, addition of feminine -e to the written masculine form also corresponds to the pronunciation of a final consonant in spoken French:
| -t | petit | petite | small |
| cuit | cuite | cooked | |
| -s | gris | grise | grey |
| mauvais | mauvaise | bad | |
| -d | grand | grande | tall, big |
| -as | bas | basse | low |
| gras | grasse | fatty | |
| épais | épaisse | thick | |
| las | lasse | tired | |
| -et | muet | muette | mute |
| coquet | coquette | cute | |
| -ot | sot | sotte | stupid |
| -et | complet | compléte | complete |
| inquiet | inquiéte | worried | |
| secret | secréte | secret | |
| discret | discréte | discreet | |
| concret | concréte | concrete | |
| replet | repléte | plump |
In the following cases, addition of -e, and sometimes the doubling of the final consonant, corresponds to a change from a nasal vowel to an oral vowel + consonant in spoken French:
| paysan | paysanne | peasant |
| partisan | partisane | biased |
| ancien | ancienne | old |
| enfantin | enfantine | childlike |
| européen | européenne | European |
| féminin | féminine | feminine |
| fin | fine | fine |
| mignon | mignonne | pretty |
| bon | bonne | good |
| brun | brune | brown |
| opportun | opportune | opportune |
NB: In some cases - ne is added and not just - e.
In the following cases, addition of final -e is accompanied by a change in the final consonant or the whole of the final syllable:
| -ais/aîche | frais | fraîche | fresh |
| -aux/ausse | faux | fausse | false |
| -er/ère | premier | première | first |
| dernier | dernière | last | |
| étranger | étrangère | foreign |
| --eux/euse | heureux | heureuse | happy |
| amoureux | amoureuse | in love | |
| nerveux | nerveuse | nervous | |
| affreux | affreuse | frightful | |
| peureux | peureuse | frightened | |
| -eux/-eille | vieux | vieille | old |
| -eur/euse | voleur | voleuse | dishonest |
| flatteur | flatteuse | flattering | |
| trompeur | trompeuse | misleading | |
| moqueur | moqueuse | likes to make fun of others | |
| joueur | joueuse | playful | |
| -eur/eresse | vengeur | vengeresse | vengeful |
| -eur/rice | consolateur | consolatrice | consoling |
| observateur | observatrice | observant | |
| createur | creatrice | creative | |
| conservateur | conservatrice | conservative | |
| -eau/elle | nouveau | nouvelle | new |
| beau | belle | beautiful | |
| jumeau | jumelle | twin | |
| -c/ che | sec | sèche | dry |
| blanc | blanche | white | |
| franc | franche | frank | |
| -f/ve | neuf | neuve | new |
| actif | active | active | |
| bref | brève | brief | |
| créatif | créative | creative | |
| vif | vive | lively | |
| -in/ igne | bénin | bénigne | benign |
| malin | maligne | sharp, clever | |
| -ong/ongue | long | longue | long |
| -ou/olle | mou | molle | soft |
| fou | folle | mad | |
| -oux/ouce/ | doux | douce | gentle |
| ousse | roux | rousse | red-haired |
NB: beau, fou, mou, nouveau, vieux also have a special masculine form – bel, fol, mol, nouvel, vieil – which appears when a following noun begins with a vowel or a so- called ‘silent h’:
| un bel effet | a fine effect |
| un fol espoir | a vain hope |
| un nouvel homme | a new, a changed man |
| un mol effort | a weak effort |
| un vieil hélicoptère | an old helicopter |
In cases where the adjective already ends in - e, there is no change:
| manifeste | masculine and feminine | obvious |
| sale | masculine and feminine | dirty |
| tranquille | masculine and feminine | calm |
| utile | masculine and feminine | useful |
In most cases -s is added to the singular form of the adjective and there is no change in the pronunciation:
| Elle est contente | Elles sont contentes |
| She is happy | They (f) are happy |
| Il est content | Ils sont contents |
| He is happy | They (m) are happy |
| La veste est rouge | Les vestes sont rouges |
| The jacket is red | The jackets are red |
| Le sac est rouge | Les sacs sont rouges |
| The bag is red | The bags are red |
If the word ends in -s or -x, it will be invariable:
| Notre fils est heureux | Nos fils sont heureux |
| Our son is happy | Our sons are happy |
| Le cahier est gris | Les cahiers sont gris |
| The exercise book is grey | The exercise books are grey |
| Un nouveau portable | De nouveaux portables |
| A new laptop (or mobile phone) | New laptops (or mobile phones) |
| Un beau cadre | De beaux cadres |
| A beautiful setting | Beautiful settings |
| Le chanteur principal | Des chanteurs principaux |
| The principal singer | Principal singers |
| Le principe général | Des principes généraux |
| The general principle | General principles |
| Un homme marginal | Des hommes marginaux |
| A man on the margins (of society) | Men on the margins (of society) |
| Un point de vue normal | Des points de vue normaux |
| A normal point of view | Normal points of view |
Exceptions: banal, bancal, fatal, glacial, naval, natal
| Un discours banal | Des discours banals |
| A banal speech | Banal speeches |
| Un buffet bancal | Des buffets bancals |
| A sideboard with a damaged leg | Sideboards with damaged legs |
| Un revirement fatal | Des revirements fatals |
| A fatal change of heart | Fatal changes of heart |
| Un vent glacial | Des vent glacials |
| A very cold wind | Very cold winds |
| Un chantier naval | Des chantiers navals |
| A naval dockyard | Naval dockyards |
| Mon pays natal | Des pays natals |
| My home country | Home countries |
Adjectives which alternate:
| idéal | idéals | and | idéaux | ideal |
| matinal | matinals | and | matinaux | early morning |
| pascal | pascals | and | pascaux | related to Easter |
| astral | astrals | and | astraux | related to stars |
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun whose meaning they modify. This is usually straightforward when there is just one noun:
| d'une voix hésitante | in a faltering voice |
| ce fameux dimanche | that famous Sunday |
| L'eau était froide | The water was cold |
| II lançait aux passants | He shot rapid and |
| des regards rapides et insistants | insistent glances at the passers-by |
NB: A plural noun might be modified by a string of singular adjectives, depending on the meaning: Les économies russe, bulgare et roumaine rencontrent de graves difficultés ‘The Russian, Bulgarian and Romanian economies are (each) encountering serious difficulties’.
The adjective may agree with the closest noun only:
| une table et une chaise bleue | a table and a blue chair |
The adjective may agree with all the nouns, in which case it will be plural, and will be feminine only if all the nouns are feminine. Otherwise it will be masculine:
| une table et une chaise bleues | a blue table and chair |
| II ne portait ni veste ni | He was wearing neither a blue jacket |
| pantalon bleus | nor a blue pair of trousers |
| un stylo ou un cahier bleus | a blue pen or exercise book |
The adjective may agree with the first or the second noun, depending on the meaning:
| un groupe de chanteuses talentueuses | a group of talented female singers |
| une bande de voyous agressive | an aggressive gang of layabouts |
| des bains de mer fréquents | frequent dips in the sea |
| un geste de générosité déplacée | an act of misplaced generosity |
NB: un/une drôle de can be used adjectivally meaning ‘weird’, ‘strange’. Its gender is determined by the following noun: une drôle d’idée ‘a strange idea’, un drôle de type ‘a weird bloke’.
Gens ‘people’ is usually said in dictionaries to be feminine plural. When an adjective precedes gens it takes a feminine plural form, as in de bonnes gens ‘good people’, de vieilles gens ‘old people’. BUT when the adjective follows gens it is masculine plural, as in des gens bons et honnêtes ‘good, honest people’.
When the adjective follows a verb, e.g. être, it is also masculine plural as in Ces bonnes gens sont bien naïfs ‘Those good people are rather naïve’. Les vieilles gens sont attachés à leurs racines ‘Old people are close to their roots’.
Jeunes gens is always masculine, as in de beaux jeunes gens ‘fine young people/men’, and des jeunes gens ‘young men’ is often opposed to the set phrase des jeunes filles ‘young women’.
(See also Chapter 1.2.4.)
A number of adjectives do not change either in relation to gender or to number. It is sometimes argued that these are nouns being used adjectivally.
| un pull marron | une jupe marron | des chaussures marron |
| a brown pullover | a brown skirt | brown shoes |
| un carton orange | une voiture orange | des rideaux orange |
| an orange box | an orange car | orange curtains |
| un chemisier crème | une jupe crème | des sous-vêtements crème |
| a cream blouse | a cream skirt | cream underwear |
| un portable bon marché | a cheap laptop (or mobile phone) |
| une planche à roulettes bon marché | a cheap skateboard |
| des fruits bon marche | cheap fruit |
| un pull cerise | a cherry pullover |
| une tapisserie cerise | cherry-coloured wallpaper |
| des uniformes cerise | cherry-coloured uniforms |
| angora | angora |
| baba | flabbergasted |
| bath | great |
| cucu | naff |
| gaga | nuts |
| gnangnan | gormless, dopey |
| kaki | khaki |
| pop | pop |
| porno | pornographic |
| riquiqui | inadequate (too small, too poor etc. depending on context) |
| rococo | rococo |
| snob | snobbish |
| sympa | friendly |
The adjective grand appears in invariable form in certain fixed combinations, notably:
| grand-mère | grandmother |
| grand-tante | great-aunt |
| grand-route | main road, highway |
| pas grand-chose | not much |
| grand-rue | high street |
| grand-messe | High Mass |
| à grand-peine | with great difficulty |
| avoir grand-faim | to be starving |
In these cases grand and the following noun should be linked with a hyphen. They alternate with the uses of grand in ‘non- fixed’ and non-hyphenated expressions such as: On n’oublie jamais les grandes peines de cœur de sa jeunesse ‘You can’t forget the big heartbreaks of your youth’, Ils ont suivi une grande rue le long du marché ‘They followed a long, wide street by the market’.
NB: chic is invariable for gender but agrees for number:
| un tailleur chic | une robe chic | des vêtements chics |
| a smart suit | a smart dress | smart clothes |
Like compound nouns (see Chapter 1.2.11) compound adjectives can be made up in a variety of ways. Their internal structure determines the way in which they agree with the noun they modify.
Where adjectives are coordinated, both agree with the noun:
| sourd-muet | Les enfants sourds-muets ont fait des progrès exceptionnels |
| deaf-mute | The deaf-mute children have made exceptional progress |
| aigre-doux | J'adore les sauces aigres-douces |
| sweet and sour | I adore sweet and sour sauces |
| nouveau-né | Les bébés nouveaux-nés sont très fatigants pour leurs parents |
| new-born | New-born babies are very exhausting for their parents |
| dernier-né | Les filles dernières-nées profitent de la présence de leurs frères et sreurs |
| last-born | Last-born girls take advantage of the presence of their brothers and sisters |
| grand-ouvert | Ils dorment la bouche grande-ouverte |
| wide open | They sleep with their mouths wide open |
Exception: where the first adjective ends in -i, - o, only the second part agrees:
| tragi-comique | Toutes ses pièces étaient tragi-comiques |
| tragi-comedy | All her plays were tragi-comedies |
| franco-allemand Franco-German |
Dans le cadre de l'union européenne, les accords franco-allemands ont duré plus de quarante ans Within the European framework, the Franco-German agreements have lasted for more than forty years |
Where an adverb and an adjective are combined, the adverb (always the first element) remains invariable and the adjective agrees:
| haut placé highly placed |
Je connais des fonctionnaires haut placés qui pourraient nous aider I know some highly placed civil servants who could help us |
| bien intentionné well-intentioned |
Ce sont toujours les personnes bien intentionnées qui créent le plus de problemes It's always the well-intentioned people who cause the most problems |
| avant-coureur early-warning |
Voilà les signes avant-coureurs d'une maladie grave There are the early-warning signs of a serious illness |
Combinations of colour adjectives remain invariable:
| des cheveux châtain clair | light-brown hair |
| une veste bleu foncé | a dark-blue jacket |
| une mer vert-bouteille | a bottle-green sea |
| une couverture gris-rouge | a red-grey cover |
In combinations involving demi-, nu- and mi-, demi- and nu- are invariable before the noun, but agree when they follow it:
| une demi-heure | but | une heure et demie |
| a half-hour | an hour and a half | |
| une demi-page | une page et demie | |
| a half-page | a page and a half | |
| nu-tête | sortir tête nue | |
| bareheaded | to go out without a hat | |
| nu-pieds | sortir pieds nus | |
| barefoot | to go out bare footed |
mi- can only occur before the noun and is invariable:
| à mi-temps | part-time (e.g. work) |
| la mi-juin | halfway through June |
| la mi-saison | middle season (Spring, Autumn) |
| la mi-journée | the middle of the day |
| mi-américain | half-American |
| mi-clos | half-open, half-closed |
| mi-cuisse | mid-thigh |
In English, adjectives can be used to compare one entity with another by adding ‘-er’, or putting ‘more’ or ‘less’ in front: ‘bigger’, ‘lighter’, ‘more dangerous’, ‘less interesting’. In French, the comparative forms of adjectives are created by putting plus ‘more’ or moins ‘less’ in front of them. The adjective stays in the position it would normally occupy, before or after the noun, and agrees with the noun as usual (see 4.9):
plus and moins make unequal comparisons between entities. A related con struction is aussi ‘as’ (which often changes to si after a negation), which makes a comparison of equality between entities:
NB: Adding aussi to a preceding adjective does not alter its position. This contrasts with English. Compare: une aussi grande voiture with ‘as big a car’.
In clauses dependent on nouns modified by comparative adjectives with plus and moins, writers often insert ne, le or ne le in formal written French:
In clauses dependent on nouns modified by comparative adjectives with aussi, only le may be inserted in formal written French:
There are two irregular comparative forms of adjectives which are used productively in French:
| meilleur/-e | better (comparative of bon 'good') |
| pire | worse (comparative of mauvais 'bad') |
meilleur is used everywhere that bon could be, and agrees with the noun it modifies:
plus bon ‘more good’ is only possible where English can use ‘more good’, but, again as in English, the form is rather unusual:
(For the distinction between meilleur and mieux see Chapter 5.6.6.)
pire and plus mauvais both exist. plus mauvais is the most commonly used form, but pire will be used where the comparison is between two things which are already both bad:
or to refer to abstract nouns:
In English, adjectives can be used to describe the best or worst of something by adding ‘- est’ or putting ‘most’ or ‘least’ in front of them: ‘biggest’, ‘lightest, ‘most dangerous’, ‘least interesting’. These are superlative forms of adjectives.
In French the superlative forms of adjectives are created by putting the definite article – le, la, les – in front of the comparative forms: la plus grande voiture ‘the biggest car’, la plus forte odeur ‘the strongest smell’. When adjectives follow the noun, this means that ther e are two definite articles, one before the noun and one before the comparative form of the adjective: la voiture la plus puissante ‘the most powerful car’, les virages les plus dangereux ‘the most dan gerous bends’. Note that the article agrees in gender and number with the noun:
NB: ‘in’ after superlative adjectives is usually de: la route la plus dangereuse de la région, la moins malade de sa famille. (See Chapter 13.15.3.)
There are three irregular superlative forms of adjectives which are used productively in French:
| le/la/les meilleur(e)(s) | the best (superlative of bon 'good') |
| le/la/les pire(s) | the worst (superlative of mauvais 'bad') |
| le/la/les moindre(s) | the least (superlative of petit 'small') |
The conditions under which meilleur and pire are used are the same as those described in 4.12.1:
le/la/les moindre(s) is used in semi- fixed expressions, and with abstract nouns:
Where concrete nouns are involved, however, le/la/les plus petit(e)(s) is used:
When adjectives which normally precede nouns are used in a superlative form, they may follow the noun they modify on the grounds that they are ‘too long’ to appear in front of the noun (see 4.1.6):
| un bref aperçu | le plus bref aperçu or l'aperçu le plus bref |
| a brief outline | the briefest outline |
| un jeune homme | le plus jeune homme or l'homme le plus jeune |
| a young man | the youngest man |
Clauses dependent on nouns modified by a superlative adjective have a verb in the subjunctive if the construction claims a unique status for the noun. For example:
But where the construction does not claim a unique status for the noun, the verb in the dependent clause is in the indicative:
(For more on this construction see Chapters 11.1.8 and 15.11.3.)
One way of translating into French expressions like ‘the simplest of all’, ‘the most interesting imaginable’ (known as ‘absolute superlatives’) is to put the expression des plus in front of the adjective: des plus simple(s), des plus intéressant(s). In this construction the adjective must agree in gender with the noun it modifies, but if the noun is singular the adjective may be either singular or plural:
In modern French the plural form is probably the more frequent of the two.
Other ways of expressing an absolute superlative are: