Noun gender and plurals
Every noun is masculine or feminine; endings that help you guess, and how plurals work.
English nouns have no grammatical gender; French nouns all do. Gender affects the article, adjectives and pronouns, so always learn a noun with its article: not «maison» but la maison.
| Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|
| le livre (the book) | la table (the table) |
| le soleil (the sun) | la lune (the moon) |
| le vélo (the bike) | la voiture (the car) |
| le problème (the problem) | la solution (the solution) |
Endings that help
| Usually feminine | Usually masculine |
|---|---|
| -tion, -sion (la nation) | -ment (le moment) |
| -té (la liberté) | -age (le fromage) — except la page, la plage, l'image |
| -ette (la baguette) | -eau (le bateau) — except l'eau, la peau |
| -ure (la voiture) | -isme (le tourisme) |
| -ence, -ance (la chance) | -ier (le cahier) |
Feminine forms of people
- un ami → une amiea (male) friend → a (female) friend
- un étudiant → une étudiantea student (m) → a student (f)
- un acteur → une actricean actor → an actress
Plurals
The rule is to add -s, just like English, but the -s is silent. You usually hear the plural only in the article: le livre [lə] / les livres [le].
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| un livre | des livres | + s |
| un bateau | des bateaux | -eau → -eaux |
| un journal | des journaux | -al → -aux |
| un bus, un prix, un nez | des bus, des prix, des nez | -s, -x, -z: no change |
| un œil | des yeux | irregular (eye/eyes) |
Test yourself
-
Masculine or feminine: «nation»?
Show answer
feminine: la nation -
Masculine or feminine: «fromage»?
Show answer
masculine: le fromage -
Plural of «un cheval»?
Show answer
des chevaux -
Plural of «un gâteau»?
Show answer
des gâteaux