Adjectives that come before the noun

Level 1

While most French adjectives follow the noun, a small group of high-frequency adjectives called BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) usually come before the noun.

How It Works

In French, the standard rule is that adjectives follow the noun (e.g., un livre bleu). However, a specific group of short, high-frequency adjectives known as BAGS adjectives are an exception and come before the noun.

1. The BAGS Categories:

  • Beauty: un beau jardin (a beautiful garden), une jolie robe (a pretty dress)
  • Age: une vieille voiture (an old car), un nouveau livre (a new book), un jeune homme (a young man)
  • Goodness: un bon ami (a good friend), un mauvais choix (a bad choice)
  • Size: une petite maison (a small house), un gros chat (a big/fat cat)

Important Note on Synonyms: The BAGS rule generally applies to this limited group of high-frequency adjectives. Many of their synonyms follow the standard rule and are placed after the noun (e.g., un beau jardin but un jardin magnifique; une petite maison but une maison gigantesque), though some synonyms like superbe or vaste can still precede the noun.

2. Other Common Exceptions & Rules:
Numbers (like deux or premier) also precede the noun. The adjective autre (other) also precedes the noun. Note that même precedes the noun to mean 'same' (la même chose) but follows it to mean 'very' or 'itself' (le jour même). Similarly, prochain (next) and dernier (last) precede the noun when referring to a sequence in a series (la dernière fois, the last time), but they must follow the noun when used with time words to indicate time relative to the present (la semaine dernière, last week; l'année prochaine, next year).

3. Euphonic Forms:
To avoid a clash of vowel sounds, three very common adjectives change their masculine singular form when the next word starts with a vowel or a mute 'h':

  • beau becomes bel (un bel homme)
  • nouveau becomes nouvel (un nouvel appartement)
  • vieux becomes vieil (un vieil ami)

Note: The feminine forms (belle, nouvelle, vieille) do not change before a vowel (e.g., une belle amie).

4. The 'de' Rule:
In standard written or proper French, when a plural adjective comes before the noun, the plural indefinite article des often changes to de (e.g., de bons amis). However, there are important exceptions: 1) In informal spoken French, native speakers often ignore this rule and say des bons amis. 2) If des is a mandatory contraction of de + les (e.g., le père des jeunes filles), it does not change to de. 3) des is retained for compound nouns or set phrases (e.g., des petits pois, des jeunes gens).

5. Multiple Adjectives:
If you use two adjectives and only one is a BAGS adjective, they "sandwich" the noun: une petite voiture rouge (a small red car).

6. Meaning Changes:
Some adjectives change meaning based on their position. For example:

  • grand: un grand homme (a great man) vs. un homme grand (a tall man)
  • ancien: un ancien professeur (a former teacher) vs. un meuble ancien (an antique piece of furniture)
  • cher: mon cher ami (my dear friend) vs. un livre cher (an expensive book)
  • propre: ma propre chambre (my own room) vs. une chambre propre (a clean room)

Examples (5)

  1. Elle a une petite voiture rouge.

    She has a small red car.

    Word by Word: She has a small car red.

    'Petite' (Size) comes before the noun, while 'rouge' (Color) follows the standard rule and comes after.

  2. C'est un bel arbre.

    It is a beautiful tree.

    Word by Word: It is a beautiful tree.

    'Beau' becomes 'bel' before 'arbre' because 'arbre' starts with a vowel.

  3. Nous avons de bons amis.

    We have good friends.

    Word by Word: We have of good friends.

    In standard written or proper French, 'des' becomes 'de' when it precedes a plural adjective like 'bons'.

  4. Il habite dans un vieil appartement.

    He lives in an old apartment.

    Word by Word: He lives in an old apartment.

    'Vieux' becomes 'vieil' before a vowel sound to make pronunciation smoother.

  5. C'est un grand homme.

    He is a great man.

    Word by Word: It is a great man.

    When 'grand' is placed before the noun (BAGS position), it often means 'great' rather than 'tall'.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing all adjectives before the noun like in English.

    un bleu livre
    un livre bleu

    Only BAGS adjectives go before the noun. Colors, shapes, and religions almost always go after.

  • Using the standard masculine form before a vowel.

    un beau homme
    un bel homme

    You must use the euphonic forms (bel, vieil, nouvel) to avoid a 'hiatus' (two vowel sounds clashing).

  • Keeping a BAGS adjective before the noun when it is modified by a long adverb.

    un extrêmement bon vin
    un vin extrêmement bon

    If a BAGS adjective is modified by a long adverb like 'extrêmement', the whole phrase usually moves after the noun.

How It Connects

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Adjectives that come before the nounLevel 1

Learn This First

To learn BAGS adjectives, you first need to understand the standard French word order where adjectives usually follow the noun. Additionally, since these adjectives must still agree with the noun they modify, a grasp of general adjective agreement and the specific irregular forms of common BAGS adjectives is necessary.

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