Adjectifs - suites Adjectives - Continued
 
Les pluriels Plurals

When an adjective modifies a plural noun, an s should be is added to the end however this s is never pronounced.

  des vents froids m. cold winds
  des mains froides f. cold hands

Whenever an adjective describes both a male and female noun, the masculine form is used.

Monsieur Martin et sa femme sont gentils.
Mr Martin and his wife are nice.

 
Le placement Placement

Normally adjectives follow the noun they modify, however this isn't the case for all adjectives.

  la grande ville the large city le petit général the small general
  le bon curé the good priest une jolie femme a pretty woman
  le mauvais Dr. Moreau the evil Dr. Moreau les hauts murs the high walls
  le gros morceau de gâteau  
  the big/fat piece of cake  

Sometimes the meaning of an adjective changes depending on it's placement.

  un ancien élève a former student ma propre cuisine my own kitchen
  un village ancien an old village ma cuisine propre my clean kitchen
  ma chère mère my dear mother le pauvre homme the unfortunate man
  un légume cher an expensive vegetable l'homme pauvre the poor man
(money-wise)

The following adjectives are all irregular. The archaic masculine form is now only used in front of masculine nouns that begin with a vowel or silent h.

Masculine un beau livre
a beautiful book
le nouveau conseil
the new advise
un vieil homme
an old man
Archaic Masculine le bel oiseau
the beautiful bird
un nouvel échec
a new failure
le bon vieux temps
the good old days
Feminine la belle montagne
the beautiful mountain
la nouvelle année
the new year
une vieille plaie
an old wound
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