Placement of "long"
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Joakim R.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Placement of "long"
"long" is listed here and elsewhere as an adjective that goes before the noun, so how come there are approximately the same number of hits on google for "longs cheveux" and "cheveux longs" (including quotation marks to preserve order) ?
This question relates to:French lesson "Position of French Adjectives - Short and common adjectives that go BEFORE nouns"
Asked 8 years ago
Bonjour Joakim,
This lesson at an earlier level gives you the main rule for positions of adjectives in French, but of course (and as always with French!), there are further subtleties.
Generally speaking, a lot of adjectives can be used either before or after the noun and here the nuance: "after" adjectives' meaning is more literal, objective or based on neutral observation ("des cheveux longs" is a basic statement on a physical characteristic) whereas "before" adjectives take on more of a subjective, figurative or based on opinion meaning ("de longs cheveux" contains already a positive (or negative) appreciation, and personal opinion).
Obviously, in that specific case, these nuances are very subtle ;)
I hope that's helpful!
This lesson at an earlier level gives you the main rule for positions of adjectives in French, but of course (and as always with French!), there are further subtleties.
Generally speaking, a lot of adjectives can be used either before or after the noun and here the nuance: "after" adjectives' meaning is more literal, objective or based on neutral observation ("des cheveux longs" is a basic statement on a physical characteristic) whereas "before" adjectives take on more of a subjective, figurative or based on opinion meaning ("de longs cheveux" contains already a positive (or negative) appreciation, and personal opinion).
Obviously, in that specific case, these nuances are very subtle ;)
I hope that's helpful!
Joakim R. asked:
Placement of "long"
"long" is listed here and elsewhere as an adjective that goes before the noun, so how come there are approximately the same number of hits on google for "longs cheveux" and "cheveux longs" (including quotation marks to preserve order) ?
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