"traditionnelle" before or after noun?
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JoakimKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
"traditionnelle" before or after noun?
In a writing challenge, a correct answer was "et nous avons fini avec la traditionnelle bûche de Noël".
Googling, I find things like "Musée du Costume Traditionnel" and many more example where this adjective comes after the noun.
So why is it before the noun in the writing challenge?
Asked 6 years ago

Bonjour Joakim !
Here it's the case we've discussed before, when adjectives can be before or after the noun.
-> "after is in a more objective sense, as in plain characteristic, whereas before takes a subjective connotation, emotion, opinion etc."
In this case, the colloquial usage tends to be "la traditionnelle bûche de Noël" rather than "la bûche de Noël traditionnelle".
The first case feels a bit more emphatic, whereas the second case is more matter-of-factly.
I would use the second one when explaining how to make it for example:
- The traditional Yule log is made of... -> "La bûche de Noël traditionnelle est faite à partir de..."
but I would say: "Voilà la traditionnelle bûche de Noël !"
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Here it's the case we've discussed before, when adjectives can be before or after the noun.
-> "after is in a more objective sense, as in plain characteristic, whereas before takes a subjective connotation, emotion, opinion etc."
In this case, the colloquial usage tends to be "la traditionnelle bûche de Noël" rather than "la bûche de Noël traditionnelle".
The first case feels a bit more emphatic, whereas the second case is more matter-of-factly.
I would use the second one when explaining how to make it for example:
- The traditional Yule log is made of... -> "La bûche de Noël traditionnelle est faite à partir de..."
but I would say: "Voilà la traditionnelle bûche de Noël !"
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Joakim asked:View original
"traditionnelle" before or after noun?
In a writing challenge, a correct answer was "et nous avons fini avec la traditionnelle bûche de Noël".
Googling, I find things like "Musée du Costume Traditionnel" and many more example where this adjective comes after the noun.
So why is it before the noun in the writing challenge?
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