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Position of Adjectives

FoundationHigherAQA

Learn Position of Adjectives for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Most French adjectives follow the noun, but a defined set of common adjectives comes before it.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Most French adjectives go after the noun, which is the opposite of English — but a small group goes before.

Une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant, un homme français. Colours, nationalities and most descriptive adjectives all follow the noun.

The adjectives that come before are short and common, and the mnemonic BAGS covers them: Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size. So beau, joli, jeune, vieux, nouveau, bon, mauvais, grand, petit, gros. Un petit garçon, une jolie maison, un bon film. A few adjectives change meaning by position: un ancien professeur means a former teacher, un professeur ancien means an elderly one.

Revision notes

Most adjectives follow the noun

Une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant, un homme français.

Colours, nationalities, shapes and most descriptive adjectives all go after. This is the default and the opposite of English word order.

The BAGS group goes before

Beauty: beau, joli. Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau. Goodness: bon, mauvais. Size: grand, petit, gros.

Un petit garçon, une jolie maison, un bon film, une vieille dame. These are short, common adjectives.

Adjectives that change meaning

A few shift meaning depending on position.

Un ancien professeur — a former teacher. Un professeur ancien — an elderly teacher. Ma propre chambre — my own room. Ma chambre propre — my clean room.

Key points

  • Most adjectives follow the noun.
  • This is the opposite of English.
  • Colours and nationalities follow the noun.
  • The BAGS group goes before.
  • BAGS covers beauty, age, goodness and size.
  • A few adjectives change meaning by position.

Worked examples

Example 1

Place the adjective correctly: une voiture, rouge. [2 marks]

Working

une voiture rougeplace the adjective after the noun
Colours follow the noun in Frenchexplain the rule

Example 2

Place the adjective correctly: un garçon, petit. [2 marks]

Working

un petit garçonplace the adjective before the noun
Petit is a size adjective and belongs to the BAGS groupexplain the exception

Example 3

Explain the difference between un ancien professeur and un professeur ancien. [2 marks]

Working

Un ancien professeur means a former teacherexplain the first
Un professeur ancien means an elderly teacherexplain the second

Common mistakes

  • Putting every adjective before the noun.

    Most go after, unlike English.

  • Putting BAGS adjectives after.

    They go before: un petit garçon.

  • Ignoring meaning changes.

    Ancien and propre shift meaning by position.

  • Forgetting agreement when the adjective moves.

    It agrees regardless of position.

Exam tips

  • Default to placing adjectives after the noun.
  • Learn the BAGS group for the exceptions.
  • Watch ancien and propre for meaning shifts.
  • Apply agreement in either position.

Key terms

BAGS
Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size — adjectives going before.
Position
Whether an adjective goes before or after the noun.
Ancien
Former before the noun, elderly after it.
Descriptive adjective
An adjective that normally follows the noun.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.