French Adjectives: Rules, Position and Interactive Exercises
French adjectives (les adjectifs qualificatifs) must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, and their position in a sentence can completely change their meaning. This guide covers the rules for forming feminine and plural forms, the BAGS rule for knowing which adjectives go before the noun, the most important irregulars (beau, vieux, nouveau) and 10 interactive exercises to master them before DELF A2–B1.
Feminine formation table: main endings
The general rule is to add -e to the masculine form to make the feminine. If the adjective already ends in a silent -e, it doesn't change. Masculine ending → feminine ending: • Consonant → + e: grand → grande, petit → petite, intelligent → intelligente • -e → -e (no change): calme, riche, triste, jeune, magnifique • -eux → -euse: heureux → heureuse, sérieux → sérieuse, dangereux → dangereuse • -f → -ve: actif → active, sportif → sportive, neuf → neuve • -er → -ère: premier → première, cher → chère, léger → légère • -en / -on → -enne / -onne: ancien → ancienne, bon → bonne, européen → européenne • -el → -elle: naturel → naturelle, cruel → cruelle • -et → -ette (or -ète): muet → muette | complet → complète, secret → secrète • -eur → -euse (verb-based): menteur → menteuse, trompeur → trompeuse • -teur → -trice (formal): créateur → créatrice, conservateur → conservatrice Fully irregular forms: beau → belle, nouveau → nouvelle, vieux → vieille, fou → folle, mou → molle, favori → favorite, public → publique, grec → grecque.
Plural formation: general rule and exceptions
General rule: add -s to the singular. grand → grands, grande → grandes. Important exceptions: • Already ends in -s or -x: no change → heureux → heureux, gris → gris • -eau → -eaux: beau → beaux, nouveau → nouveaux • -al → -aux: principal → principaux, normal → normaux. EXCEPTIONS: banal → banals, fatal → fatals, naval → navals Invariable colors (nouns used as adjectives): des robes orange, des yeux marron. 'Pure' color adjectives do agree: des robes vertes, des yeux bleus. Compound colors are always invariable: bleu clair, rouge foncé.
Adjective position: the BAGS (BANGS) rule
In French, most adjectives come AFTER the noun: une voiture rouge (a red car), un homme intelligent (an intelligent man) — this is the reverse of the default English order, where the adjective comes first (a red car). This is the single biggest adjustment for an English speaker learning French adjectives. Adjectives that go BEFORE the noun are grouped under the rule BAGS (or BANGS): • Beauty: beau/belle, joli/jolie • Age: jeune, vieux/vieille, nouveau/nouvelle • Number/Order: premier, dernier, prochain, deuxième • Goodness/Quality: bon/bonne, mauvais/mauvaise, gentil/gentille • Size: grand, petit, gros, long, court Special forms before a masculine word starting with a vowel: beau → bel (un bel homme), nouveau → nouvel (un nouvel ami), vieux → vieil (un vieil arbre). Adjectives that CHANGE MEANING depending on position: • un grand homme (a great man, important) vs un homme grand (a tall man) • mon ancien professeur (my former teacher) vs un bâtiment ancien (an old building) • un pauvre homme (a poor man, to be pitied) vs un homme pauvre (a man with no money) • sa propre voiture (his/her own car) vs une voiture propre (a clean car) • un certain âge (a certain age) vs une chose certaine (a certain/sure thing)
Irregular adjectives: beau, vieux, nouveau
These three adjectives have a special masculine singular form before a vowel or silent h: • beau (m. before consonant) → bel (m. before vowel) → belle (f.) → beaux (m. pl.) → belles (f. pl.) Examples: un beau jardin / un bel appartement / une belle maison / de beaux jardins • nouveau (m. before consonant) → nouvel (m. before vowel) → nouvelle (f.) → nouveaux (m. pl.) → nouvelles (f. pl.) Examples: un nouveau livre / un nouvel étudiant / une nouvelle idée / de nouveaux livres • vieux (m. before consonant) → vieil (m. before vowel) → vieille (f.) → vieux (m. pl.) → vieilles (f. pl.) Examples: un vieux château / un vieil arbre / une vieille maison / de vieux châteaux This distinction is a frequent trap in the DELF: *un beau hôtel instead of un bel hôtel.
Comparatives and superlatives (regular and irregular forms)
Comparative of superiority: plus + adjective + que → Elle est plus grande que moi (She is taller than me). Comparative of equality: aussi + adjective + que → Il est aussi intelligent que son frère (He is as intelligent as his brother). Comparative of inferiority: moins + adjective + que → Ce film est moins intéressant (This film is less interesting). Relative superlative: le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective + de → C'est la plus belle ville de France (It's the most beautiful city in France). Essential irregular forms for DELF B2: • bon → meilleur (comparative) → le meilleur (superlative). NEVER *plus bon. • mauvais → pire or plus mauvais → le pire. • petit → moindre (abstract sense: la moindre idée) or plus petit (physical size).
Practice exercises
1Form the feminine: 'un acteur _____ (heureux)'
2What is the correct position? (belle / intelligente)
3Choose the correct demonstrative adjective: '_____ étudiant est très sérieux.'
4What is the feminine form of 'sportif'?
5The plural of 'un beau château' is:
6'Mon _____ professeur m'a beaucoup aidé.' (mi ex-profesor)
7'Ce vin est _____ que l'autre.' (better)
8Ante vocal: 'Il habite dans _____ appartement magnifique.'
9Which is correct for 'an orange dress'?
10Form the plural: 'un problème normal' → ___
Common mistakes to avoid
- Placing the adjective before the noun by default, the way English always does: *une intelligente fille instead of une fille intelligente. Most French adjectives follow the noun, unlike English.
- Not marking gender on the adjective at all, since English adjectives never change form: *un livre intéressante instead of un livre intéressant, or forgetting the feminine -e entirely on nouns you don't yet know the gender of.
- Forgetting that -al becomes -aux in the plural: *les problèmes normals instead of les problèmes normaux.
- Using *ma amie instead of mon amie (before a feminine singular word starting with a vowel).
- Translating 'more good' literally as *plus bon instead of meilleur.
- Forgetting the bel/nouvel/vieil forms before a vowel: *un beau appartement instead of un bel appartement.
- Making color-nouns agree: *des robes oranges instead of des robes orange (invariable).
DELF exam tips
- In DELF B2 written production, a paragraph with varied, correctly placed adjectives shows strong command of the language and improves your score.
- Memorize the BAGS rule to remember which adjectives go before the noun: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size.
- The superlative always takes a definite article: la plus belle (not *plus belle on its own).
- To describe people in the DELF oral exam, combine adjectives that go before and after the noun: un jeune homme intelligent.
- In reading comprehension, check whether an adjective placed before the noun changes meaning (ancien, pauvre, propre, cher, seul, certain).