Adjective Placement: After Noun (Most Cases)

In French, the noun is the anchor of your sentence. When you speak, you want to establish the "what" before the "how." If you are at a café and want a black coffee, you say un café noir. You tell the waiter you want coffee (café) first, then specify the color (noir). This prevents any confusion. If you put the adjective first, a French speaker might be waiting for the noun, feeling like the sentence is unfinished. The adjective's job is to modify the noun, and in French, that modification usually happens as an afterthought or a clarification. It is a very "matter-of-fact" way of speaking. You are building a picture piece by piece. First the shape, then the color, then the vibe.

1. 1To master this, follow these simple steps:
2. 2Start with your article (like un, une, le, or la).
3. 3Place your noun immediately after the article (e.g., le chat).
4. 4Place your adjective directly after the noun (e.g., le chat noir).
5. 5Ensure the adjective matches the gender of the noun (add an e for feminine nouns usually).
6. 6Ensure the adjective matches the number (add an s for plural nouns).
7. 7Check if the adjective is a "short/common" exception (BANGS). If not, keep it at the end!

Most adjectives live happily after the noun. You should use this placement for:

• Colors: This is the most frequent use. Un vélo vert (a green bike) or une robe bleue (a blue dress).
• Nationalities: Always after! Un film français (a French film) or une voiture allemande (a German car).
• Shapes: Une table ronde (a round table) or un tapis carré (a square rug).
• Religion and Politics: Un pays catholique (a Catholic country) or un débat politique (a political debate).
• Physical Qualities: De l'eau chaude (hot water) or un gâteau sucré (a sweet cake).
• Moods and Personality: Un homme calme (a calm man) or une femme intelligente (an intelligent woman).

French wouldn't be French without a few exceptions to keep you on your toes. There is a small group of very common adjectives that jump in front of the noun. We use the acronym BANGS to remember them: Beauty (beau), Age (vieux, jeune), Number (deux, premier), Goodness (bon, mauvais), and Size (grand, petit). These are the "VIPs" of the French language. They don't like waiting in line, so they push to the front. If you are describing a "big house," it is une grande maison, not une maison grande. Think of these as the popular kids in high school who always get to the front of the lunch line. Everything else stays in the back.

The "English Reflex" is your biggest hurdle. You will naturally want to say le bleu ciel because "the blue sky" sounds right in your head. You have to train your brain to pause after the noun. Another common slip-up is forgetting to make the adjective feminine or plural. Even if you get the position right, une voiture vert is still a bit of a "grammar fashion faux pas." It must be une voiture verte. Also, watch out for adjectives that change meaning depending on where they are, though that is a bit more advanced. For now, just remember: if it's a color or a nationality, it goes at the end. Yes, even native speakers mess this up when they are tired, so don't sweat it too much!

In English, we can stack five adjectives before a noun: "The big old rusty red truck." In French, this becomes a bit of a sandwich. The "big" and "old" (Size and Age from BANGS) go before the noun, but "rusty" and "red" go after. It would look like: Le grand vieux camion rouillé rouge. It feels like the noun is being hugged by descriptions from both sides. While English is like a train with all the cars in front of the engine, French is like a train where the engine (the noun) is in the middle. It’s all about balance and rhythm.