Nationality Adjectives: Placement and Capitalization

In French, nationality adjectives behave like most other adjectives. They have two main jobs. First, they describe where something or someone comes from. Second, they must agree with the noun they describe. This means they change for gender and number. If the noun is feminine, the adjective becomes feminine. If the noun is plural, the adjective becomes plural. Unlike English, these adjectives almost always follow the noun. You wouldn't say "the French wine." You would say "the wine french." It feels backwards at first. But soon, it will feel like second nature. Even native speakers sometimes forget the agreement. So, do not worry if you trip up. Just keep practicing.

1. 1To use nationality adjectives correctly, follow these four steps:
2. 2Identify your noun first. Is it a person, a place, or a thing?
3. 3Determine the gender and number of that noun. Is it un (masculine) or une (feminine)?
4. 4Place the nationality adjective immediately after the noun.
5. 5Ensure the adjective is in lowercase. Only the noun version gets a capital letter.
6. 6For example, to say "a Spanish car":
7. 7Noun: une voiture (feminine/singular)
8. 8Adjective: espagnol becomes espagnole (feminine/singular)
9. 9Result: une voiture espagnole.

You will use this pattern in many real-world scenarios. Imagine you are at a job interview in Paris. You might say Je cherche une entreprise française. This shows you know the grammar and the culture. Or imagine you are at a cafe. You might ask for un café italien. It is perfect for describing products in a shop. You can use it to describe your friends. Mon ami est américain. It is also vital for talking about languages. Though, when talking about a language as a noun, it stays lowercase too. Je parle français. It is the glue that connects people to their origins in conversation.

There is one major trap to avoid. Do not use lowercase when the word is a Proper Noun. This happens when you refer to a person as the noun itself. For example, "The Frenchman is here" becomes Le Français est ici. Notice the capital F. Here, Français is a person, not a description. If you say "The French man," it is l'homme français. Here, it is an adjective, so use a lowercase f. Also, do not place the adjective before the noun. You will never see un français vin. That sounds like a glitch in the matrix to a French person. Keep the nationality at the end of the phrase.

The biggest mistake is the "Capitalization Habit." English speakers love capitalizing nationalities. In French, un livre Anglais is wrong. It must be un livre anglais. Another mistake is forgetting gender agreement. A common slip is saying une bière allemand. It must be une bière allemande. Since bière is feminine, the adjective needs that extra e. Also, watch out for plural forms. If you have two vins, they are vins français. Luckily, français already ends in s, so it doesn't change! Yes, even the French find these little shortcuts helpful sometimes.

Think of nationality adjectives like color adjectives. In French, you say un chat noir (a black cat). The color goes after the noun. Nationalities follow this exact same rule. This is different from "size" adjectives like grand or petit. Those usually go before the noun. So, you would say un grand restaurant italien. The size comes first, then the noun, then the nationality. It is like a sandwich. The noun is the meat in the middle. English puts all descriptors before the noun. French likes to spread them out for balance and rhythm.