Quantitative Adjectives
Quantitative adjectives describe how much or how many of something there is, and they shape meaning by specifying amount, proportion, or frequency. This guide goes over the main types of quantitative adjectives in French, with brief examples to show usage.
Key Vocabulary
| French Word(s) | English Word(s) |
|---|---|
| un peu de | a little bit of |
| beaucoup de | a lot of |
| assez de | enough of |
| trop de | too much / too many |
| quelques | some / a few |
| la plupart de | most of |
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌳 Il y a beaucoup d’arbres dans le parc. | There are many trees in the park. |
| 🪑 Il y a quelques chaises sous les arbres. | There are a few chairs under the trees. |
| 🚶♂️ Beaucoup de gens se promènent. | Many people are walking. |
| 🍎 J’ai acheté quelques pommes au marché. | I bought a few apples at the market. |
| 🧺 Ils ont fait un grand pique-nique. | They had a big picnic. |
| 🥖 Il y a une longue file devant la boulangerie. | There is a long line in front of the bakery. |
| 🗑️ Il y a peu de poubelles dans le parc. | There are few trash bins in the park. |
| 🪴 Quelques plantes décorent les fontaines. | A few plants decorate the fountains. |
| 🏞️ Le parc est très vaste. | The park is very vast. |
| 🌸 Il y a beaucoup de fleurs colorées. | There are many colorful flowers. |
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Usage
Quantitative adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun when they are adjectives, but expressions that use de followed by a noun are often invariable. Measures and proportions are sometimes treated as adjectives and sometimes as noun modifiers. Context determines whether they agree.
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Expressions with de
Expressions like beaucoup de, un peu de, trop de are followed by a noun and do not change form to agree; they function more like quantifying determiners. These expressions work the same way whether the noun is countable or uncountable.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌧️ Il y a beaucoup de monde malgré la pluie. | There are many people despite the rain. |
| 🍓 J’ai acheté beaucoup de fraises au marché. | I bought many strawberries at the market. |
| 🗒️ Il y a peu de places assises dans le parc. | There are few sitting places in the park. |
| 🧍 Beaucoup de personnes font la queue. | Many people are lining up. |
| 🧴 Il y a peu de fontaines d’eau potable. | There are few drinking water fountains. |
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Adjectives That Agree
Some quantitative adjectives like plusieurs, chaque and numerals function as determiners and do not change form, while others like quelques agree in number when used as an adjective. When an adjective expresses an inherent property, it agrees in gender and number with the noun.
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🧺 Ils ont fait un grand pique-nique sous les arbres. | They had a big picnic under the trees. |
| 🪴 De grandes plantes entourent la fontaine. | Large plants surround the fountain. |
| 🪑 Il y a beaucoup de petites chaises colorées. | There are many small colorful chairs. |
| 🌼 Le parc est rempli de jolies fleurs. | The park is full of pretty flowers. |
| 🏃♀️ Beaucoup de gens sont partis après un court orage. | Many people left after a short storm. |
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Summary
Quantitative adjectives tell us amount or number, and they guide us in interpreting quantity precisely. Remember that expressions with de remain invariable, while adjectives must agree when they modify the noun directly. Practicing with real examples will make these distinctions intuitive.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025