# FR: a very pretty house



## je-ne-regrette-rien

Bonjour ! 

I don't know where I got this into my head, but for some reason, when I add an adverb to an adjective that goes before the noun, I change it so that it's after the noun. 

par ex. 
J'habite une jolie maison. 
J'habite une maison très jolie. 

Am I confused, or can this be right?


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## cropje_jnr

Keep it before - _une jolie maison => une très jolie maison._


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## je-ne-regrette-rien

OK, but _could _it be _une maison très jolie? _


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## chambers

cropje_jnr said:


> Keep it before - _une jolie maison => une très jolie maison._


 
cropje_jnr a parfaitement raison. Il vaut mieux dire 

_une jolie maison => une très jolie maison._

_Si tu dis "une maison très jolie", il est possible que des gens penseront que tu parles comme un enfant._


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## JonnyDr

je-ne-regrette-rien, in French, certain adjectives precede the noun. _Jolie_ is one of them.

See here under point (2) for others which behave the same: http ://french.about. com/od/grammar/a/adjectives_4.htm (remove spaces)


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## ViveLeFrancais

When i was in elementary school, my french teacher gave us the terms : B.A.G.S. 
All the adjectives that are used with bags are all put *before* the noun. (For ex. La belle maison, Le beau garçon, La jolie fille). The word _jolie_ fits in with *B.A.G.S *because it could either go under *B*eauty, or *G*oodness

B - Beauty (Beau, Belle, laid, laide)
A - Age (Vieux, Jeune)
G - Goodness (le meilleur, le pire, etc) 
S - Size (Grand, Petit, etc.)


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## chambers

I didn't know this rule to help learners to put the adjectives at the right place. It's great !


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## JonnyDr

Hmm, I don't think 'laid(e)' commonly precedes the noun. And 'grand(e)', when used to refer to size, goes after the noun.


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## maarten-martin

The rule I remember is:
the adjective after the noun simply qualifies, put before it expresses an intrinsic quality:

classic examples:
des mains blanches (of a painter, a baker, someone freezing), de blanches mains (the hands of the pale-skinned princess, rather literary, I admit).
un homme grand (someone above 180 cm), un grand homme (Napoléon, De Gaulle and the like).
un pauvre type (my English comes short here - an worthless (stupid) guy? only depreciatory anyway), un type pauvre (a guy with no money).
Indeed, the adjectives fitting in the BAGS tend to describe intrinsic qualities. 
You could almost make a kind of parallel with the Spanish 'ser/estar' distinction, for understanding sake, not for any practical rule, I'm afraid.


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## JonnyDr

Nice explanation Martin, but is age intrinsic, for example? Is beauty more intrinsic than size (not to get too deep!) Best to learn the common ones that precede the noun (there are only 15 or so) and get a feel for the others.


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## maarten-martin

JonnyDr said:


> Nice explanation Martin, but is age intrinsic, for example? Is beauty more intrinsic than size (not to get too deep!) Best to learn the common ones that precede the noun (there are only 15 or so) and get a feel for the others.


 
OK, you are right...
Don't take the word intrinsic too literally, say "essential" - and of course there is also the fact that you will stress the adjective when putting it before: un vieil homme goes curbed under the years, un homme âgé just happens to be old.
Some more examples I'm making up: 
"un vieux vin" could be a well-known cru, cultivated for centuries (with loving care and uncomparable skill, it goes without saying). "Un vin vieux" has ripened for a long time.
Un vieux copain has been a friend for a long time, un copain vieux would be over seventy...
Un mystérieux endroit: we can't get to know where it is exactly, un endroit mystérieux is a place full of mystery.
Un authentique crétin is simply, really and totally stupid, un crétin authentique might represent a very typical and sincere, almost admirable, kind of natural or cultural stupidity.

In French, as in all languages no doubt, there is always a desire to sound funny, original or... English (see "Astérix chez les Bretons" where the adjectives are systematically put in the wrong place to suggest English) so the very fact that you should not put the adjective in one place might lead to putting it just there. In fact most of the adjectives can be put before or after the noun acording to context.

Hope this helps to definitely confuse the matter - sorry for that. Well, I am suffering my part when writing in English.


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## Nicomon

je-ne-regrette-rien said:


> OK, but _could _it be _une maison très jolie? _



Hello jnrr

While we usually say _une très jolie maison_, it would be perfectly correct to write _une maison très jolie_, if it was associated with another adjective :

Examples :
_- Boucle d'or trouva la maison très jolie et confortable.
- C'est une maison très jolie et très accueillante_

Edit :  This is a direct link to the about.com article that JonnyDr mentioned in post #5.  BTW, I agree that _laid(e)_ doesn't precede the noun. 

And if you are comfortable reading French this one (at first glance) seems "user friendly".


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## curmad

Thanks, Nicomon. That "user friendly" article is very enlightening.

I attempted to post an old Cajun song about "une belle maison" but did not succeed. I'm sure "jolie" is correct and a better description. 

MB


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## je-ne-regrette-rien

> And if you are comfortable reading French this one (at first glance) seems "user friendly".


 
Oui, merci, c'est très bien  



> je-ne-regrette-rien, in French, certain adjectives precede the noun. _Jolie_ is one of them.


Oui, je sais, mais je me demandais si on peut le placer après le nom si on utilise un adverbe.  Ex. _Mon petit ami est un mec assez beau. (Un beau mec) _

Merci à tous


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