Masculin ou Féminin?
Les articles
In French, nouns are either __________________________
In French, all nouns and pronouns are either masculine or feminine. When we know that
the noun refers to a person, it is easy to tell if it is masculine or feminine (boy or girl, male or
female). We cannot tell with some nouns like the word television, if they are masculine or
feminine just from the word, so we look for clues or just have to memorize them.
In a French dictionary:
Masculine is shown by a lowercase m.
Feminine is shown by a lowercase f.
Singular is shown by a lowercase s.
Plural is shown by a lowercase pl.
When you have a word in French
and you do not know if it is
masculine or feminine, look to the
ending of the word to see if it
matches one of the endings – if
not, _____________________________
Some of the most common endings of French nouns
French nouns with masculine endings and the English meaning
-age
maquillage
makeup
-al
animal
animal
-ent
sergent
sargeant
-ier
fermier
farmer
-eur
chanteur
singer
-ien
canadien
Canadian
-isme
tourisme
tourism
-ment
gouvernement
government
French nouns with feminine endings and the English meaning
-ade
-aison
-ette
-ière
-euse
-ienne
-ie
-sion
promenade
combinaison
coquilette
fermière
chanteuse
canadienne
crémerie
passion
walkway
combination
pasta shell
farmer
singer
Canadian
dairy
passion
-ture
confiture
jam (confiture de fraises
= strawberry jam)
-té
-tion
charité
invention
charity
invention
Articles -
définis et indéfinis
The Definite Article
Definite Articles: le, la, l’ and les = « the » in English
French
le
le garçon
le stylo
English
=THE (masculine) - used before a masculine singular
noun beginning with a consonant (any letter except
vowels).
the boy
the pen
la
=THE (feminine) - used before a feminine singular noun
beginning with a consonant (any letter except vowels).
la table
la serviette
the table
the napkin
l’
=THE - used before a masculine or feminine singular
noun beginning with a vowel or a silent “h”.
l’étudiant
l’homme
the student
the man
les
=THE - used before all plural nouns.
les garçons
les stylos
les femmes
the boys
the pens
the women
Indefinite Articles: un, une, des = « a / an / some » in English
French
un
un garçon
un stylo
une
une table
une serviette
des
English
=A / AN (masculine) - used before a masculine singular
noun beginning with a consonant (any letter except
vowels).
a boy
a pen
=A / AN (feminine) - used before a feminine singular
noun beginning with a consonant (any letter except
vowels).
a table
a napkin
=SOME (plural) - used with both masculine and feminine
plural nouns.
I have (some) books.
J’ai des livres.
Vous avez des vidéos. You have (some) videos