Adjectifs qui ne le sont pas
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Adjectives comprise one of the eight French parts of speech, but certain members of other grammatical categories can sometimes be used as adjectives. These "non-adjectives" are invariable: there’s no gender/number agreement with the nouns they modify.
There are four types of non-adjective adjectives.
1) Adverbs used as adjectives
As far as I know, this is the complete list of French adverbs that can be used as adjectives:
allegro | allegro (quick, lively tempo) | |
arrière | back, rear | |
avant | front | |
bien | nice, decent | |
debout | standing, up | |
incognito | incognito | |
mal | wrong, bad, sick, uncomfortable |
2) Prefixes used as adjectives
Five French prefixes are used as adjectives:
extra | great, first-rate, top-quality | |
hyper | excessive, to a very high degree | |
maxi | maximum, long | |
mini | small | |
super | great, terrific |
3) Nouns used as adjectives
Many nouns can be used as adjectives; here are just a few examples.
les opérations escargot | rolling blockades | |
l’entrée est / nord / ouest / sud | east / north / west / south entrance | |
les mères gâteau | soft/indulgent mothers | |
une tarte maison | homemade pie | |
des chaussures sport | athletic shoes | |
les comptes utilisateur | user accounts | |
les câbles vidéo | video cables | |
les sites Web | websites |
4) Noun clauses used as adjectives
Like all of the above, noun clauses do not agree with the nouns they are "adjectiving" for*
une voiture bon marché | a cheap car | |
ils sont de bonne humeur | they’re in a good mood | |
elles sont trop collet monté | they’re too straight-laced | |
les ascenseurs hors service | out-of-service elevators | |
les soi-disant victimes | alleged victims |
* But there is agreement within the noun clause – note that in the second example, bonne is feminine to agree with its noun humeur.
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