Do French adjectives go before or after the noun?

One of the main differences between English and French is the adjective position - unlike in English, where the adjective comes before the noun (e.g we would say 'the green apple'), French adjectives come after (e.g la pomme verte). However, like for most grammatical rules, there are some important exceptions - some French adjectives actually come before the noun as well. Many of these are common adjectives you might like to use in your work.An easy way to remember these special adjectives is to use the BANGS rule:B - beauty (e.g beau, joli)A - age (e.g vieux, jeune, nouveau)N - number (e.g un, deux, trois)G - goodness (e.g bon, mauvais, meilleur)S - size (e.g grand, petit, gros)So remember - French adjectives come after the noun, unless the belong to a BANGS category, in which case they come before!

KS
Answered by Kit S. French tutor

2905 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How can I learn French vocabulary effectively?


When would you use the preterite versus the imperfect?


When to know when to use simple past or imperfect tense?


Vous écrivez un blog sur vos vacances. Décrivez: où vous êtes allé, ce que vous avez fait.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning