Most French adjectives follow the noun, but a short group of very common ones comes BEFORE it - words for beauty, age, goodness and size: beau, joli, nouveau, vieux, jeune, bon, mauvais, grand, petit. Before a masculine noun starting with a vowel, beau, nouveau and vieux become bel, nouvel and vieil.
Examples
- C'est un petit appartement.
- It's a small flat.
- Nous avons un nouvel appartement.
- We have a new flat.
- Il y a un joli jardin.
- There's a pretty garden.
- C'est une maison moderne.
- It's a modern house.
The mistake to avoid
"Un appartement petit" sounds foreign: petit, grand and joli want to go first.
Where this fits in
Home & neighbourhood, French A1: Describe your home and its rooms, say where things are, and talk about the places near where you live.