Adjectives

4 May 2026

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns . In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, and their position relative to the noun follows specific rules.

Agreement

Gender

The base form of a French adjective is the masculine singular. The feminine is typically formed by adding -e :

petit → petite - small
grand → grande - big / tall
français → française - French

When the masculine already ends in -e , the form is identical for both genders:

rouge - red (un ballon rouge / une voiture rouge)
jeune - young

Many adjectives follow patterns based on their ending:

-eux → -euse - heureux → heureuse, sérieux → sérieuse
-er → -ère - premier → première, étranger → étrangère
-f → -ve - actif → active, neuf → neuve
-on → -onne - bon → bonne, breton → bretonne
-en → -enne - ancien → ancienne, européen → européenne
-el → -elle - naturel → naturelle, officiel → officielle
-et → -ète - discret → discrète, concret → concrète
- exceptions: muet → muette, net → nette

Some common adjectives are completely irregular:

beau → belle - beautiful
nouveau → nouvelle - new
vieux → vieille - old
blanc → blanche - white
doux → douce - sweet / soft
faux → fausse - false

Number

The plural is typically formed by adding -s to the singular form. Both genders follow this rule:

petit → petits , petite → petites

When the singular already ends in -s or -x , the plural is identical:

gris → gris - grey
heureux → heureux - happy

Some adjectives follow other patterns:

-eau → -eaux - beau → beaux, nouveau → nouveaux
-al → -aux - national → nationaux, royal → royaux
- exceptions: fatal → fatals, banal → banals, naval → navals

Position

Most French adjectives come after the noun they modify:

une voiture rouge - a red car
un homme intelligent - an intelligent man

However, a group of common adjectives are placed before the noun. A handy acronym for these is BANGS :

B eauty: beau, joli
A ge: jeune, vieux, ancien
N umber/order: premier, dernier, prochain, deuxième
G oodness: bon, mauvais
S ize: grand, petit, gros, long, haut

Note: some adjectives change meaning depending on whether they come before or after the noun. Mon ancien professeur (my former teacher) vs. un bâtiment ancien (an old/ancient building). Un grand homme (a great man) vs. un homme grand (a tall man).

Liaison forms

Three adjectives have an extra masculine singular form used before a vowel or silent h :

beau → bel - un bel homme
nouveau → nouvel - un nouvel appartement
vieux → vieil - un vieil arbre

These forms only affect the spoken and written masculine singular. The feminine forms ( belle , nouvelle , vieille ) are unchanged.

Invariables

Some adjectives do not agree with the noun at all:

Color adjectives derived from nouns: marron , orange , crème , saumon
- contrast: rouge, vert, bleu, jaune etc. all agree normally
Compound colors (two words describing a single shade): bleu marine , vert foncé , rouge vif

Comparison

Comparative

To compare adjectives, place plus (more), moins (less), or aussi (as) before the adjective and que (than / as) after it:

plus … que - more … than
moins … que - less … than
aussi … que - as … as

Cette voiture est plus rapide que l’autre. - This car is faster than the other.

Superlative

The superlative uses a definite article + plus or moins . The article agrees with the noun:

le/la/les plus … - the most …
le/la/les moins … - the least …

C’est la ville la plus belle du pays. - It’s the most beautiful city in the country.

When the adjective follows the noun, the definite article is repeated: le film le plus intéressant .

Irregular forms

A few adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms rather than using plus/moins :

bon → meilleur(e) - good → better / best
mauvais → pire - bad → worse / worst
- plus mauvais also exists but is less common