Gender of French nouns
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All French nouns have a gender. Every noun is defined as either masculine (French: masculin) or feminine (French: féminin). There are no neuter nouns.
Whenever you are using a noun, you need to know whether it is masculine or feminine as this affects the form of other words used with it, such as:
Especially when it comes to definite articles you have to consider that:
Please note that l' is used before masculine or feminine nouns beginning with a vowel or silent h.
ln English, we refer to things with "it". ln French, however, things are either masculine or feminine. Because of this, the gender usually is used arbitrary and must be memorized in the process of learning new vocabularies.
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1.) There are nouns which have a different meaning, according to the circumstance if they're used as a masculine or feminine.
masculine form | feminine form |
---|---|
le crêpe (textile) | la crêpe (pancake) |
le critique (critic) | la critique (criticism) |
le livre (book) | la livre (pound) |
le manche (stem) | la manche (sleeve) |
le mémoire (memoir) | la mémoire (memory) |
le mode (mode) | la mode (fashion) |
le mort (death man) | la mort (death) |
le poêle (stove) | la poêle (frying pan) |
le vase (vase) | la vase (mud) |
le tour (tour) | la tour (tower) |
2.) Nouns which end in -eur are masculine when they want to describe something concrete and female, when they want to describe something abstract.
3.) Certain characteristic endings indicate the gender of the noun:
masculine endings | Examples for masculine endings | feminine endings | Examples for feminine endings |
---|---|---|---|
-age | le garage un avantage (the garage, an advantage) | -ade | la salade la promenade (the salat, the walk) |
-al | le cheval le signal (the horse, the signal) | -ance -ence | la distance la différence (the distance, the difference) |
-eau | le château le bateau (the castle, the boat) | -ée | la journée une idée (the day, the idea) |
-ent | le document le talent (the document, the talent) | -elle | les nouvelles une échelle (the news, the ladder) |
-et | le billet le guichet (the ticket, the ticket counter) | -ette | la cigarette la bicyclette (the cigarette, the bicycle) |
-ier | le cahier le métier (exercise book, the job) | -ie | la maladie la librairie (the disease, the library) |
-isme | le tourisme le communisme (the tourism, the communism) | -ine | la cuisine la cantine (the kitchen, the canteen) |
-oir | le devoir le pouvoir (the homework, the power) | -ion | la télévision la distraction (the television, the distraction) |
Generally, we add an -e to a masculine noun in order to obtain the feminine.
But they are many exceptions as we already saw below in the lists.
the nouns ending in -er make their feminine en ère
Some nouns double the final consonant before the -e
Some nouns in -e make them feminine en -esse
The nouns ending in -eur turn into feminine:
eur | euse | trice | esse |
---|---|---|---|
vendeur | vendeuse | ||
moniteur | monitrice | ||
docteur | docteresse |
Nouns ending in -if make them feminine in -ive
Some nouns completely change in the feminine and some others are irregulars like the animals gender.
1.) The gender of persons and animals in French is always reduced to their natural gender.
2.) You recognize a female noun not only by looking at the article but also because of the ending
3.) Sometimes you can also add -é to the end of a masculine noun to form the feminine.
4.) It's also common to use periphrases.
5.) Some nouns have two genders, which are differentiated only by their articles.
6.) For some nouns there is only a masculine form, which applies to both sexes.
Masculine noun | Feminine noun | Translation |
---|---|---|
Un taureau | Une vache | (A cow) |
Un cheval | Une jument | (A horse) |
Un agneau | Une agnelle | (A lamb) |
Un loup | Une louve | (A wolf) |
Un canard | Une cane | (A duck) |
Un âne | Une ânesse | (A donkey) |
Un cerf | Une biche | (A deer) |
Un chameau | Une chamelle | (A camel) |
Un chien | Une chienne | (A dog) |
Un dindon | Une dinde | (A turkey) |
Un singe | Une guenon | (A monkey) |
C'est une ... célébre.
chirurgien
chirurgienne
Elle aide une ... qui s'est cassé la jambe.
patient
patiente
Monsieur Foucault est un ... à l'école secondaire.
professeure
professeur
C'est une ... qui écrit bien.
journaliste
journalist
C'est un ... fameux.
actrice
acteur
La ... est très gentil.
doctoresse
docteur
Jasmin est une ... de Annika.
amie
ami
Sara est une ... trés travailleuse.
élèvée
élève
Joanne K. Rowling est une femme ... .
écrivain
écrivaine
Bernard est un ... en Espagne.
touriste
tourist
C'est une ... célébre.
chirurgienne
Elle aide une ... qui s'est cassé la jambe.
patiente
Monsieur Foucault est un ... à l'école secondaire.
professeur
C'est une ... qui écrit bien.
journaliste
C'est un ... fameux.
acteur
La ... est très gentil.
doctoresse
Jasmin est une ... de Annika.
amie
Sara est une ... trés travailleuse.
élève
Joanne K. Rowling est une femme ... .
écrivain
Bernard est un ... en Espagne.
touriste
Rewrite the sentences by using the correct words and articles (le, la, l').
Bonne chance!
Example: L'avocat est très prospère.
1. Pierre Letange enseigne à l'école Brebour. (The professor Pierre Letange teach at Brebour middle school)
2. Anne est de Madame Dupont. (Anne is the daughter of Mrs. Dupont)
3. Simone est (the cousin) de Pierre. (Simone is the cousin of Peter)
4. Peter Miller habite l'Angleterre. (The British Peter Miller llives in the UK)
5. Marie Loceur travaille en Italie. (The computer scientist Marie Loceur works in Italy)
6. Martina Pierron danse avec le Ballet national. (The dancer Martina Pierron dances at the National Ballet)
7. Pierre donne beaucoup à manger á ses animaux; donc, de Pierre est gros. (Peter gives lot of foods to his animals so his dog is fat)
8. est très gentille. (This French woman is really kind)
9. des Dupont est un berger allemand. (The dog of the Dupont is a German shepherd)
10. m'a aidé. (The sales woman helped me)
Write the feminine noun of the following masculine nouns.
Bonne chance !
Example: un poéte : une poétesse.
1. Un ami : Une
(A girl friend)
2. Un écolier : Une
(She is a schoolchild)
3. Un coiffeur : Une
(She is a hairdresser)
4. Un collégien : Une
(A schoolgirl)
5. Un champion : Une
(She is a champion)
6. Un patron : Une
(She is a boss)
7. Un danseur : Une
(She is a dancer)
8. Un conseiller : Une
(She is a conselor)
9. Un orphelin : Une
(She is an orphan)
10. Un comte : Une
(A countess)
C'est une ... célébre.
chirurgienne
chirurgien
Elle aide une ... qui s'est cassé la jambe.
patiente
patient
Monsieur Foucault est un ... à l'école secondaire.
professeur
professeure
C'est une ... qui écrit bien.
journaliste
journalist
C'est un ... fameux.
acteur
actrice
La ... est très gentil.
docteur
doctoresse
Jasmin est une ... de Annika.
amie
ami
Sara est une ... trés travailleuse.
élèvée
élève
Joanne K. Rowling est une femme ... .
écrivain
écrivaine
Bernard est un ... en Espagne.
touriste
tourist
C'est une ... célébre.
chirurgienne
Elle aide une ... qui s'est cassé la jambe.
patiente
Monsieur Foucault est un ... à l'école secondaire.
professeur
C'est une ... qui écrit bien.
journaliste
C'est un ... fameux.
acteur
La ... est très gentil.
doctoresse
Jasmin est une ... de Annika.
amie
Sara est une ... trés travailleuse.
élève
Joanne K. Rowling est une femme ... .
écrivain
Bernard est un ... en Espagne.
touriste
Rewrite the sentences by using the correct words and articles (le, la, l').
Bonne chance!
Example: L'avocat est très prospère.
1. Pierre Letange enseigne à l'école Brebour. (The professor Pierre Letange teach at Brebour middle school)
2. Anne est de Madame Dupont. (Anne is the daughter of Mrs. Dupont)
3. Simone est (the cousin) de Pierre. (Simone is the cousin of Peter)
4. Peter Miller habite l'Angleterre. (The British Peter Miller llives in the UK)
5. Marie Loceur travaille en Italie. (The computer scientist Marie Loceur works in Italy)
6. Martina Pierron danse avec le Ballet national. (The dancer Martina Pierron dances at the National Ballet)
7. Pierre donne beaucoup à manger á ses animaux; donc, de Pierre est gros. (Peter gives lot of foods to his animals so his dog is fat)
8. est très gentille. (This French woman is really kind)
9. des Dupont est un berger allemand. (The dog of the Dupont is a German shepherd)
10. m'a aidé. (The sales woman helped me)
Write the feminine noun of the following masculine nouns.
Bonne chance !
Example: un poéte : une poétesse.
1. Un ami : Une
(A girl friend)
2. Un écolier : Une
(She is a schoolchild)
3. Un coiffeur : Une
(She is a hairdresser)
4. Un collégien : Une
(A schoolgirl)
5. Un champion : Une
(She is a champion)
6. Un patron : Une
(She is a boss)
7. Un danseur : Une
(She is a dancer)
8. Un conseiller : Une
(She is a conselor)
9. Un orphelin : Une
(She is an orphan)
10. Un comte : Une
(A countess)
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Hello, my name is Claus !For many years I teach students from all over the world as a professional teacher of the German language. With a lot of experience and patience I lead my students to their to teach successfully and with fun. I offer you general language courses of B1- C2 with test preparations, as well as courses in Business German (prerequisites are language proficiency in German from level B1 +!).
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Thanks for your support. I learned a lot from you and my last German test went very well. I will be happy to contact you again if I need your help again. With kind regards
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Very social and helpful teacher with an excellent grasp on how to improve your french in a structured fashion. The informal style is very pleasant and will help you acquire the language in a natural, unforced fashion. The teaching materials and tools used are geared to your level and are a great help in smoothing out the learning curve. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a learn by doing approach with the help of proven teaching tools and documents.
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Bonjour ! Comment ça va ?
My name is Lou, and I would be happy to be your french teacher !
French classes are for all levels, beginner to advanced and are based on conversations.
My classes are fun and dynamic ! We will use various documents to work on and always adapt the classes to your needs and interests. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner, we will speak french and I am sure you will improve quickly.
Free 30 min trial lesson !
Feel free to contact me to talk about your goals and to plan a trial lesson.
See you soon online ! :-)
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Lou works in a very structured way and sent me teaching material before the lesson. After a bit of small talk, we worked on the topic of the lesson, with the lesson divided into reading comprehension, discussion of the text, listening comprehension of a video and a written assignment on the topic. Lou picked an interesting topic that created plenty of opportunity for conversation. She corrected mistakes in a friendly manner and responded very well to my learning requests. That was fun!
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Hello everyone!
I am Manon, French by birth, currently living in Costa Rica.
I love meeting new people and I am curious to discover your life path and discuss what you are passionate about.
During a class, I take the time to take an interest in my students and help them to speak naturally.
The conversation can be about a topic you’d like to talk about, or we can use a video, an audio, or an image and discuss around this support.
I want you to feel comfortable so, no pressure, we’re here to have fun and learn.
I look forward to meeting you, so feel free to try a free trial course ;)
See you soon!
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Manon is a lovely teacher. I really enjoyed the lessons with her and learned a lot of things. Thanks again!!!
Manon R.
Thank you very much Julia!! It was a real pleasure to know you, I too had a great time! Good continuation to you!
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