French Determiners: Adjectifs déterminants

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Updated on February 21, 2020

The grammatical term "determiner" refers to a word, either an article or a certain type of adjective, which simultaneously introduces and modifies a noun. Determiners, also known as non-qualifying adjectives, are much more common in French than in English; some sort of determiner is nearly always required in front of each noun used and has to agree with it in gender and number.

The main difference between a qualifying (descriptive) adjective and a non-qualifying adjective (determiner) has to do with usage. Qualifying adjectives qualify or describe a noun, while non-qualifying adjectives introduce a noun and may determine or specify it at the same time.

In addition, qualifying adjectives may be:

Placed before or after the noun they modify
Separated from the noun they modify by other words
Modified by a comparative or superlative adverb
Used in conjunction with one or more other qualifying adjectives to modify a single noun

Determiners, on the other hand,

Always directly precede the noun they modify
Cannot themselves be modified
Cannot be used with other determiners

They can, however, be used with qualifying adjectives, as in ma belle maison, or "my beautiful house."

Types of French Determiners

Articles
Definite articles	Definite articles denote a specific noun, or a noun in general.
	le, la, l', les the	J'ai mangé l'oignon. I ate the onion.
Indefinite articles	Indefinite articles refer to an unspecified noun.
	un, une / des a, an / some	J'ai mangé un oignon. I ate an onion.
Partitive articles	Partitive articles indicate an unknown quantity, usually of food or drink.
	du, de la, de l', des some	J'ai mangé de l'oignon. I ate some onion.
*Adjectives*
Demonstrative adjectives	Demonstrative adjectives indicate a specific noun.
	ce, cet, cette / ces this, that / these, those	J'ai mangé cet oignon. I ate that onion.
Exclamative adjectives	Exclamative adjectives express a strong sentiment.
	quel, quelle / quels, quelles what a / what	Quel oignon! What an onion!
Indefinite adjectives	Affirmative indefinite adjectives modify nouns in a unspecific sense.
	autre, certain, chaque, plusieurs... other, certain, each, several...	J'ai mangé plusieurs oignons. I ate several onions.
Interrogative adjectives	Interrogative adjectives clarify "which" of something one is referring to.
	quel, quelle, quels, quelles which	Quel oignon ? Which onion?
Negative adjectives	Negative indefinite adjectives negate or cast doubt on a quality of the noun.
	ne... aucun, nul, pas un... no, not a single, not one...	Je n'a mangé aucun oignon. I didn't eat a single onion.
Numerical adjectives	Numerical adjectives include all numbers; however, only cardinal numbers are determiners, because fractions and ordinal numbers can be used with articles.
	un, deux, trois... one, two, three...	J'ai mangé trois oignons. I ate three onions.
Possessive adjectives	Possessive adjectives modify a noun with its possessor.
	Mon, ta, ses... My, your, his...	J'ai mangé ton oignon. I ate your oignon.
Relative adjectives	Relative adjectives, which are very formal, indicate a link between a noun and an antecedent.
	lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles which, said	Il a mangé l'oignon, lequel oignon était pourri. He ate the onion, said onion was rotten.

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Team, ThoughtCo. "French Determiners: Adjectifs déterminants." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/list-of-french-determiners-1368834. Team, ThoughtCo. (2023, April 5). French Determiners: Adjectifs déterminants. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/list-of-french-determiners-1368834 Team, ThoughtCo. "French Determiners: Adjectifs déterminants." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/list-of-french-determiners-1368834 (accessed April 19, 2024).