Language/French/Grammar/Adjectives-which-regularly-occur-before-and-after-the-noun,-but-with-a-change-of-meaning
The meaning given to a certain number of adjectives when they occur after a noun and when they occur after the verb être is the same:
- Cette maison est ancienne
It's an old house
But when these adjectives occur before the noun the meaning is different.
Compare:
- La rue est bordée de maisons anciennes
The Street is lined with old(-style) houses
- Son ancienne maison a été détruite
His former house was destroyed
When adjectives occur before the noun they tend to contribute to the meaning of the noun itself. So, un ancien soldat is someone who is 'old in the profession of soldiering', i.e. 'an old (ex-)soldier'. Un gros fumeur is not 'a fat smoker', but 'a heavy smoker' (un fumeur gros is 'a fat smoker').
Common adjectives which have different meanings when they precede or follow nouns are:
tab
NB: neuf and nouveau. Ma voiture neuve is likely to be 'my brand new car' (not second-hand), while ma nouvelle voiture is a car which is different from the one I had before (it may or may not be 'brand new'), feu 'late, deceased' can be used in two ways: feu la reine/la feue reine. Both mean 'the late queen', but note that in the first case feu does not agree with reine. Usually limited to legal papers.