In the headlines: pre- and postnominal adjectives | French

Starter quiz

Match the English and the French
- hôpital
  
  ⇔
  
  hospital ✓
- idéal
  
  ⇔
  
  ideal ✓
- plusieurs
  
  ⇔
  
  several ✓
- jeu
  
  ⇔
  
  game ✓
- oiseau
  
  ⇔
  
  bird ✓
Which of these is the correct definition for an 'adjective'?
- word that gives information about a verb
- word that gives information about a noun ✓
- word that gives information about a preposition
Match the meaning of these adjectives
- belle
  
  ⇔
  
  beautiful ✓
- jeune
  
  ⇔
  
  young ✓
- vieux
  
  ⇔
  
  old ✓
- mauvaise
  
  ⇔
  
  bad ✓
- petit
  
  ⇔
  
  small ✓
- grande
  
  ⇔
  
  big ✓
Complete this sentence with the infinitive form of 'to find': on peut ______ un animal
- 'trouver' ✓
Put this sentence in order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  il
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  y
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  a
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  plusieurs
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  animaux
Which of the following is true about adjectives in French?
- They always come before the noun.
- They always come after the noun.
- They usually come after the noun, but some come before. ✓
- They are always at the end of the sentence.

Exit quiz

Which word contains a nasal vowel?
- ami
- enfant ✓
- école
- idée
Match the words to the correct pronunciation rule.
- lampe, penser, enfant
  
  ⇔
  
  nasal vowel ✓
- amusant
  
  ⇔
  
  oral vowel ✓
Put the words in the correct order to form a headline.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  ils
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  ont
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  la
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  même
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  voiture
Which of these adjectives usually comes before the noun in French?
- intelligent
- grand ✓
- rapide
- dangereux
What does the acronym BRAGS stand for in French adjective placement?
- 'beauty rank age goodness size' ✓
Which one sentence correctly uses an adjective from the 'Rank' category?
- J'ai un chat noir.
- Il achète une voiture même.
- Nous avons plusieurs idées. ✓
- Elle mange un gâteau délicieux.

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

[em/am] is pronounced like 'temps' and [en/an] sounds like 'enfant' before a consonant.
[em/am] and [en/an] are the same nasal sound before a consonant and different oral sounds before a vowel.
Prenominal adjectives come before the noun they describe. These are Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size adjectives.
The acronym BRAGS reminds us which adjectives are prenominal.
'Plusieurs', 'autre' and 'même' are examples of 'Rank' adjectives.

Common misconception

All adjectives are postnominal in French; they come after the noun.

Most adjectives in French come after the noun but there are a group of prenominal adjectives. We use BRAGS to remember that adjectives of Beauty, Rank, Age, Goodness and Size come before the noun like adjectives in English.

Keywords

[em/am] - pronounced as in 'temps'
[en/an] - pronounced as in 'enfant'
Prenominal adjective - a BRAGS adjective (beauty, rank, age, good/bad or size) that goes before the noun: 'un vieux vélo'
Nasal vowel - when pronounced, air passes through both nose and mouth