Language/French/Grammar/Combinations-of-adjectives
Multiple adjectives before the noun
Cardinal numbers are usually the first in any combination of adjectives preceding a noun, but after that the order of adjectives is the same as it is in English:
- les deux premières semaines
the first two weeks
- les quatre dernières jolies phrases
the last four pretty sentences
- au bon vieux temps
in the good old days
- une autre nouvelle maison
another new house
- un vrai beau grand château
a really beautiful large castle
- ce pauvre cher homme
that poor dear man
The exception to cardinal numbers occurring first is when a complex number is involved:
- Il m'a versé les derniers sept cents francs qu'il me devait
He paid me the last seven hundred francs he owed me
To avoid having a long string of adjectives before the noun, one or more may be combined with et, and/or moved after the noun. To illustrate, 'a young pretty little cat' could be:
- un jeune et joli petit chat or un petit chat jeune et joli
Multiple adjectives after the noun
The order of adjectives after the noun is the mirror image of English. For example, 'the Spanish Civil War' becomes 'the War Civil Spanish':
- la guerre civile espagnole
Similarly:
- des lignes parallèles invisibles
invisible parallel lines
- des milieux politiques américains
American political circles
- des feuilles mortes humides
damp dead leaves
- un agent commercial français
a French business agent