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形容词 (Adjectives)
Elle porte une belle robe rouge.
She's wearing a beautiful red dress. (BANGS: beauty before, color after)
J'ai lu un livre intéressant sur l'histoire de France.
I read an interesting book about French history. (most adjectives after noun)
Ce sont de très bons amis.
They are very good friends. (BANGS: goodness before, de before plural adj)
C'est une ancienne église ancienne.
It's a former ancient church. (ancien before = former, after = ancient)
Il a acheté une nouvelle voiture.
He bought a new car. (BANGS: age/newness before noun)
Les maisons sont blanches avec des volets bleus.
The houses are white with blue shutters. (colors always after, agreement)
Avoid this
Une voiture rouge belle.
Say this instead
Une belle voiture rouge.
Why: When combining a BANGS adjective (belle) and a regular adjective (rouge), the BANGS adjective goes before the noun and the regular adjective after. Never stack two adjectives on the same side unless they're the same type.
Avoid this
C'est un grand homme. (meaning 'great man')
Say this instead
C'est un grand homme. / C'est un homme grand.
Why: Some adjectives change meaning based on position. Grand before = great/important (un grand homme). Grand after = tall (un homme grand). Other examples: ancien (former/ancient), cher (dear/expensive), propre (own/clean), seul (only/alone).
Avoid this
Des beaux jardins.
Say this instead
De beaux jardins.
Why: When a plural adjective comes before a plural noun, des changes to de: de beaux jardins, de bonnes idées, de jeunes étudiants. This only applies when the adjective PRECEDES the noun.
🎭 BANGS: VIPs at the Front
BANGS adjectives are the VIP guests at the noun party — they always cut to the FRONT of the line. Beauty (beau, joli), Age (jeune, vieux, nouveau), Number (premier, dernier), Goodness (bon, mauvais), Size (grand, petit, gros). Everyone else waits AFTER the noun like a regular guest. And when plural BANGS adjectives lead, des drops its 's' to de — as if the 's' got embarrassed and ran away!
Adjective agreement and placement are tested from A1 through B1 in TEF/TCF. At A2, examiners check basic gender/number agreement. At B1, BANGS placement and the des→de rule before plural adjectives are tested. The adjective position meaning change (ancien, propre, seul) is a classic B1/B2 differentiator — knowing when ancien means 'former' vs 'ancient' shows sophisticated grammar control.
Shopping for a new apartment:
Agent
C'est un bel appartement avec une grande terrasse et une vue magnifique.
Client
Il est cher, mais les pièces sont lumineuses. J'aime beaucoup la petite cuisine blanche.
Agent
Et il y a de beaux parcs tout autour. C'est un quartier très agréable.
Client
Parfait. Je le prends. C'est exactement ce que je cherchais — un bel appartement avec beaucoup de caractère.
Practice French adjective agreement, placement (BANGS rules), and comparison forms with 25 interactive questions on PrepMyFrench. Instant scoring.
Write a descriptive paragraph in French using adjectives with correct agreement and placement. Get instant AI feedback from PrepMyFrench, scored to TEF/TCF criteria.
Recommended next lesson
Adjective Placement (BANGS)