Adjective position meaning

French parks most adjectives after the noun, which is the reverse of English: une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant. Only a small closed set goes in front, the BAGS group (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size). If you are unsure, put it after the noun; that guess is wrong far less often than the English instinct.

About a dozen common adjectives mean one thing before the noun and another after it, and the pattern mostly holds: in front the sense is usually figurative, behind it literal. Un grand homme is a great man; un homme grand is a tall one. Ancien, cher, propre and pauvre all split the same way.

After the noun, dernier and prochain count from today; before it, they count along a series. La semaine dernière is last week, la dernière semaine the final week of something. La semaine prochaine is next week; la prochaine fois is the next time.