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In French, most adjectives follow the noun they describe (while adjectives precede nouns in English), so the primary compromise is not naming per se, but specif
by joshklein 7y ago
In French, most adjectives follow the noun they describe (while adjectives precede nouns in English), so the primary compromise is not naming per se, but specifically abbreviating.
It’s a good compromise and a compromise good.
- K0SM0S 7y agoNot exactly. In French, adjectives can both precede or follow the noun. It's stylistic more than grammatical in many cases, and depends on how the sentence is constructed. Nuances (e.g. proper versus figurative meaning) can be elegantly conveyed by switching the adjective. Examples: "Un homme grand" means 'a tall man', but "un grand homme" is more commonly 'a great man' (although it could also mean tall, depending on context or sophistication). "Une voiture bleue" is the only correct way to say 'a blue car' ("une bleue voiture" would be grammatically wrong). "Un petit homme noir" ('a short black man') is also correct, but "un noir homme petit" is absolutely wrong, as any other variation... Generally, when both orders are allowed, emphasis is put on whichever comes first —the noun or its adjectives. Unless the sentence ends there, in which case the last word obviously resonates more. Don't ask me why... It's logically as weird to me as it may seem to you. I only know from practice (like most French people I suspect) and I'm generally bad at explaining grammar (again like most, for it's really complicated). There's probably some rule somewhere about that, with three dozen exceptions, as usual in French. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- bradknowles 7y agoDid you ask L’Académie française? They know everything. Just ask them.
- K0SM0S 7y agoHa, you made me curious. Do you think they would actually reply to emails?! — though it would probably be faster to Google for a good manual or teacher's blog. Btw more than "knowing", it's the official institution that officially decides on linguistic rules and their evolution, for the French language in France. It's called "prescriptivism" (higher authority decides what's right and what's not, period) as opposed to "descriptivism" (such as the American English language, for which nobody gets to make these calls, and dictionaries merely follow usages by people).
- mshook 7y agoAs a native French speaker who knows how to do that without knowing the rule, an American friend once told me how they remember where to put the adjective: B.A.G.S. Most adjectives dealing with the following will precede the noun: - Beauty - Age - Goodness - Size It's not always correct but it's a good start...