antéposé

Antéposé is a term in French grammar used to describe adjectives that precede the noun they modify. It is the opposite of postposé (or postnominal), which refers to adjectives placed after the noun. The position of the adjective can influence nuance, emphasis, or meaning, and is a feature characteristic of prenominal adjective placement in French.

In practice, many qualitative adjectives can be antéposés to convey value, evaluation, or immediacy. For example, belle maison (a beautiful house) places beauty before the noun and is common and natural; grand homme (a great man) can imply significance or renown, while the same adjective after the noun in certain contexts would be less idiomatic. Some adjectives show a more pronounced shift in meaning when placed before the noun. For instance, ancien before the noun often means former, as in ancien président, whereas président ancien is unusual and can suggest an elderly or outmoded sense. Other adjectives illustrate similar shifts: propre before the noun can mean “own” (ma propre voiture), while propre after the noun means clean. Cher before the noun can express emotional closeness or cost, whereas after can be more literal.

Not all adjectives are equally flexible, and many are typically postnominal in standard usage. The choice between antéposé and postposé can affect style, register, and nuance, and poets or writers may employ antéposé for emphasis or rhythmic reasons.

In summary, antéposé describes prenominal adjectives in French, a grammatical device that influences meaning and tone and interacts with the semantics of individual adjectives.