A noun is a person, place,
or thing. In French, all nouns
are masculine or
feminine (gender) and singular
or plural (number).
The French definite
arti- cle is used more frequently than the is
used in English.
The Deftnite Article
The French definite
article agrees with the noun in gender and number.
|
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
Masculine
|
le
|
les
|
|
Feminine
|
la
|
les
|
|
Masculine and feminine
before a vowel sound
|
l’
|
les
|
or mute h
Masculine Nouns
Masculine singular nouns
take the definite article le. The genders of French
nouns are hard to guess.
You will learn them as you go along. Pronounce the following nouns with their article. Refer to the Guide to Pronunciation as needed.
le chat (the cat) le frère (the brother)
le chien (the dog) le garçon (the boy)
le cinéma (the cinema, film, movies) le livre (the book)
le cours (the course, class) le téléphone (the telephone) le footbal (soccer) le vin (the wine)
Feminine Nouns
Feminine singular nouns
take the definite article la.
la banque (the bank) la lampe (the lamp)
la boutique (the store,
shop) la langue (the language) la chemise (the shirt) la sœur (the sister)
la femme (the woman, wife) la table (the table) la jeune fille (the girl) la voiture (the car)
Many
feminine nouns end in -e, but please
don’t consider this a general rule. The nouns in the following list do not end in -e;
however, they are all feminine.
Most
final consonants are silent in French. In the list below, only the final -r is
sounded.
la chaleur (heat, warmth) la forêt (the forest)
la croix (the cross) la fourmi (the ant) la distraction (the amusement) la main (the hand) la fleur (the flower) la nuit (the night) la fois (the
time [occasion]) la radio (the radio)
Masculine and Feminine
Articles Before a Vowel Sound or Mute h
The definite
article l’ is
used before all singular nouns,
maculine and femi- nine, starting with a vowel or a mute (non-aspirate) h. The -e or
-a of the definite article is dropped
(elided). When the noun starts with h, pronounce
the vowel that follows
the h.
Learn the gender (m. or
f.) in parentheses for each noun.
When you be- gin to attach
adjectives to nouns,
it will be easier
to remember their
gender.
l’ami (m.) the friend (m.) l’histoire
(f.) the
story, history
l’amie (f.) the friend (f.) l’homme (m.) the man l’anglais (m.) English (language) l’hôtel (m.) the hotel l’architecte
(m. or f.) the architect l’île (f.) the island
l’emploi (m.) the job l’orange (f.) the
orange (fruit)
l’énergie (f.) energy l’université (f.) the university
l’enfant
(m. or f.) the
child (m. or f.) l’usine (f.) the factory
Singular
Nouns and the Deftnite Article
The definite article indicates a specific person,
place, thing, or idea.
It also precedes nouns
that are used
in a general sense.
C’est l’amie
de ma mère. That’s (She’s) my mother’s friend.
Les Français adorent le football The French love
soccer and
et le cyclisme. cycling.
Le, la, and l’
Remember:
Le is used with masculine singular
nouns beginning with a con- sonant; la is used with feminine singular
nouns beginning with a consonant; and l’ is used
with both masculine and feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel and for most nouns beginning
with the letter h.
The Initial Letter h
The letter h is always silent in French. Words starting
with the letter h— l’homme, for example—are pronounced beginning with
the first vowel sound. This is called a mute h.
However, in front
of some French
words starting with h, for historical reasons, the article does not elide the -e or -a. For example:
|
la *harpe
|
the harp
|
la *honte
|
shame
|
|
le *héros
|
the hero
|
le *hors-d’œuvre
|
the appetizer
|
This is called an aspirate h. This h is also a silent letter;
it is not pronounced. French dictionaries show the aspirate
h with a diacritical
mark. In this book, words beginning with an aspirate
h are indicated by an asterisk (*).
Learning
the Gender of Nouns
Gender is linked to the noun word,
rarely to the physical thing or the per- son. Always learn the gender of a noun with its article:
le livre (the book),
la fenêtre (the window). Genders
of nouns starting with a vowel need
to be memorized separately: l’âge (m.) (age), l’hôtel (m.) (the hotel), l’horloge (f.) (the clock).
Several
rules can help you guess if a French noun is masculine or feminine:
•
Nouns that refer to
males are usually masculine; nouns
that refer to females are usually feminine:
l’homme (m.) (the man); la femme (the woman).
•
The ending of
a noun can be a clue
to its gender. Here
are some common masculine and feminine endings.
Be aware of cognate nouns, which are close to English in spelling and meaning.
Masculine Feminine
-eau le bureau, le château -ence la
différence, l’existence
-isme le tourisme, l’idéalisme -ie la tragédie, la
compagnie
-ment le moment,
le département -ion la
nation, la fonction
-té l’université, la diversité
-ude l’attitude, la solitude
-ure la littérature, l’ouverture Watch out
for exceptions: l’eau (f.) (water), la
peau (skin), le silence
(silence).
•
Nouns adopted
from other languages are usually masculine:
le jogging,
le tennis, le jazz, le basket-ball.
Exception: la pizza.
•
Some nouns referring to people
indicate gender by their ending. The feminine
form often ends in -e.
|
l’Allemand
|
the German (m.)
|
l’Allemande
|
the German (f.)
|
|
l’Américain
|
the American (m.)
|
l’Américaine
|
the
American (f.)
|
|
l’ami
|
the friend
(m.)
|
l’amie
|
the friend
(f.)
|
|
l’étudiant
|
the student (m.)
|
l’étudiante
|
the student (f.)
|
|
le Français
|
the Frenchman
|
la Française
|
the Frenchwoman
|
Note that final d, n, s, and
t are silent in the masculine form, as in the examples above. When followed by -e in
the feminine form,
d, n, s, and t
are pronounced.
•
Some nouns that end in -e and
the names of some professions have only one singular form,
used to refer
to both males and
females. In this case, the article remains the same whether
the actual person is male or female.
l’auteur (m.) (the author) la personne (the person)
l’écrivain (m.) (the writer) le professeur (the teacher, professor) l’ingénieur
(m.) (the engineer) la sentinelle (the guard, watchman) le médecin (thephysician) la
victime (the victim)
Evolving Style
In contemporary Canadian French and among
some other French speakers, you may also see or read a feminine form for a few
traditional professions (la professeure, l’écrivaine, l’auteure).
For learners, however, it’s best to continue
using the masculine forms of these nouns to refer to both males and females.
•
For certain nouns referring to people, the gender of the individual is sometimes indicated by the article alone.
Such nouns most often end in
-e; the spelling
of the noun does not change when the gender
changes.
le secrétaire/la secrétaire the secretary
le touriste/la touriste the tourist
Exercise 1.1
Write the appropriate singular definite article
for each of the nouns.
Pronounce each word in French as you write the answer, making
sure you know its meaning.
1.
ami 8. publicité
2.
homme 9. comédie
3.
lampe 10. différence
4.
fenêtre 11. médecin
5.
hôtel 12. sculpture
6.
réalisme 13. prononciation
7.
ingénieur 14. gâteau
The Indeftnite Article
The singular indefinite article in French, corresponding to a (an) in English,
is un for masculine nouns and une for
feminine nouns. The plural of both forms is des,
roughly equivalent to some (though it’s usually not translated as some). Depending on the context, un/une can also mean the number one.
|
|
Plural
|
|
|
Masculine
|
un
|
des
|
|
Feminine
|
une
|
des
|
Masculine Nouns
Pronounce the examples, learning the gender of each noun along with its article. The indefinite article is the same for nouns
beginning with a conso-
nant or a vowel.
|
a friend (m.)
|
un hôtel
|
an
hotel
|
|
|
un autobus
|
a bus
|
un jardin
|
a garden
|
|
un billet
|
a ticket
|
un musée
|
a museum
|
|
un dictionnaire
|
a dictionary
|
un pianiste
|
a pianist (m.)
|
|
un fauteuil
|
an easy chair
|
un salon
|
a living room
|
Feminine Nouns
Pronounce the following examples
and learn the meaning of words new to
you. A practical way to learn the gender
of a noun is to link it with un or
une.
une amie a friend (f.) une librairie a bookstore une
bibliothèque a library une mère a mother une héroïne a heroine une page a (book)
page une *Hollandaise a Dutchwoman une valise a suitcase une leçon a lesson une ville a city
Note that l’héroïne
(f.) (unlike le *héros) is pronounced with a mute
h and elides its definite
article. The h of le *héros is an aspirate h (no elision).
Plural Nouns
The plural
definite article of all nouns
is les; the plural
indefinite article is
des. Most French nouns
are made plural
by adding an -s to
the singular. In addition, note the following plural endings:
|
un choix
|
des
choix
|
a choice, (some) choices
|
|
le cours
|
les cours
|
the course, the courses
|
|
le nez
|
les nez
|
the nose, the noses
|
•
Some plural
noun endings are irregular.
|
le bureau
|
les
bureaux
|
the desk (or
office), the desks (or offices)
|
|
un hôpital
|
des hôpitaux
|
a hospital, (some) hospitals
|
|
le lieu
|
les lieux
|
the place, the places
|
|
le travail
|
les travaux
|
(the) work, the tasks (or jobs)
|
• The masculine form is always used to refer
to a group (two or more peo- ple) that includes at least one
male.
un étudiant et six étudiantes des étudiants students
un
Français et une Française des Français French (people)
Pronouncing
the Plural
The final -s is
usually not pronounced in French:
les touristes [lay too-Reest]
Spoken French distinguishes most singular and plural nouns
by the pro- nunciation of the definite article:
le touriste
[luh too-Reest] versus les touristes
[lay too-Reest]
When the -s of a plural article (les or
des) is followed
by a vowel sound, it is pronounced [z] and begins the following syllable; this is called a liaison:
les exercices (m.)
[lay-zehg-zehR-sees]; des hommes (m.) [day-zuhm] There is no liaison with
the aspirate h. Pronounce the nasal vowel un
[In] before un *héros [In ay-Roh], and do not make
the liaison with -s in
les
*héros [lay ay-Roh]. Pronounce the following
out loud:
des artistes [day-zahr-teest] les hommes [lay-zuhm] les cafés [lay kah-fay] des *hors-d’œuvre [day
uhr-dERR-vR]
des étudiants les restaurants [lay Rehs-toh-RAn] [day-zay-tU-dyAn]
NOTE: The word les (or
des) *hors-d’œuvre is invariable in
the plural; it has no final -s.
• Nouns that end in -s, -x, or -z in the singular stay the same in the plural.
un choix
|
des choix
|
a choice, (some) choices
|
le cours
|
les cours
|
the course, the courses
|
le nez
|
les nez
|
the nose, the noses
|
• Some plural noun endings are irregular.
le bureau
|
les bureaux
|
the desk (or office), the desks (or offices)
|
un hôpital
|
des hôpitaux
|
a hospital, (some) hospitals
|
le lieu
|
les lieux
|
the place, the places
|
le travail
|
les travaux
|
(the) work, the tasks (or jobs)
|
• The masculine form is always used to refer to a group (two or more peo- ple) that includes at least one male.
un étudiant et six étudiantes des étudiants students
un Français et une Française des Français French (people)
Pronouncing the Plural
The final -s is usually not pronounced in French:
les touristes [lay too-Reest]
Spoken French distinguishes most singular and plural nouns by the pro- nunciation of the definite article:
le touriste [luh too-Reest] versus les touristes [lay too-Reest]
When the -s of a plural article (les or des) is followed by a vowel sound, it is pronounced [z] and begins the following syllable; this is called a liaison:
les exercices (m.) [lay-zehg-zehR-sees]; des hommes (m.) [day-zuhm] There is no liaison with the aspirate h. Pronounce the nasal vowel un
[In] before un *héros [In ay-Roh], and do not make the liaison with -s in les
*héros [lay ay-Roh]. Pronounce the following out loud:
des artistes [day-zahr-teest] les hommes [lay-zuhm] les cafés [lay kah-fay] des *hors-d’œuvre [day
uhr-dERR-vR]
des étudiants les restaurants [lay Rehs-toh-RAn] [day-zay-tU-dyAn]
NOTE: The word les (or des) *hors-d’œuvre is invariable in the plural; it has no final -s.
Exercise 1.2
Write the plural form of each singular noun.
Make sure you know its meaning.
1.
une
artiste
2.
un *hors-d’œuvre
3.
le
milieu
4.
l’étudiante
5.
un Français
6.
un café
7.
le chapeau (hat)
8.
l’eau
9.
la
fenêtre
Exercise 1.3
Pronounce
the nouns with their articles, then write the English equivalent. If the gender
is not clear from the spelling, show it by writing m. or f.
1.
la
fenêtre
2.
le cyclisme
3.
les hôpitaux
4.
une sentinelle
6.
les
amies
7.
des chapeaux
8.
le
travail
9.
des choix
Descriptive
Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are used to describe nouns.
In French, descriptive adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify.
Descriptive adjectives may also follow forms of the verb être (to be): il/elle est... (he/she/it is . . . ); ils/ elles
sont... (they are . . . ). See Chapter 2 for the conjugation of
the verb être.
un ami sincère a sincere friend
Il est pratique. He/It
is practical.
Elle est sportive. She is athletic.
Agreement
of Adjectives in Gender and Number
In French,
adjectives agree in both gender and number with the nouns they modify. The feminine form of adjectives usually ends in -e. The regular plu-
ral adds an s.
|
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
Masculine
|
un ami intelligent
|
des amis intelligents
|
|
Feminine
|
une amie intelligente
|
des amies intelligentes
|
• If the masculine singular form
of the adjective ends in an unaccented or silent -e,
the ending remains
the same in the feminine singular.
C’est un homme extraordinaire. He’s an extraordinary man.
C’est une femme extraordinaire. She’s an
extraordinary woman.
Paul est optimiste. Paul is optimistic.
Mais Claire est pessimiste. But Claire is pessimistic.
• If the singular form of
an adjective ends in -s or -x, the plural ending remains the same.
Bradley est anglais; les amis Bradley
is English; Bradley’s
de Bradley
sont aussi anglais. friends are also English.
M. Blin est généreux; ses (his) Mr. Blin is generous;
his children
enfants sont aussi
généreux. are also generous.
• If a plural subject or group contains one or more masculine
items or people, the plural adjective is masculine.
Suzanne et Georges Suzanne and Georges are
sont intelligents. intelligent.
Suzanne et
Amélie sont Suzanne and Amélie are
intelligentes. intelligent.
• Invariable adjectives or adjectival phrases do not change in gender or
number.
Ce sont des chaussures chic These are stylish and inexpensive
et bon marché. shoes.
•
Some descriptive adjectives have irregular forms.
Singular
MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH
conservateur conservatrice conservative
courageux courageuse courageous
fier fière proud
gentil gentille nice
naturel naturelle natural
parisien parisienne Parisian
sportif sportive athletic
travailleur travailleuse hardworking
Plural
MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH
conservateurs conservatrices conservative
courageux courageuses courageous
fiers fières proud
gentils gentilles nice
naturels naturelles natural
parisiens parisiennes Parisian
sportifs sportives athletic
travailleurs travailleuses hardworking
Other descriptive adjectives
with irregular forms include the following examples:
canadien (canadienne) Canadian
cher
(chère) expensive; dear conspirateur (conspiratrice) conspiratorial
ennuyeux (ennuyeuse) boring
naïf
(naïve) naïve
paresseux (paresseuse) lazy
sérieux (sérieuse) serious
Adjectives
of Color
Adjectives of color normally
follow the noun and agree
with it in gender
and in number.
une chemise
bleue a blue shirt
des livres gris gray books
des chaussures vertes green shoes
• Two adjectives of color, blanc and violet, have irregular feminine
forms.
une chemise
blanche a white shirt
des cahiers
violets purple notebooks
des voitures
violettes purple cars
• Adjectives of color
ending in silent
-e are
spelled the same in both mas- culine and feminine.
des cahiers (m. pl.) jaunes yellow notebooks
des fleurs (f. pl.) jaunes yellow flowers
une chaise
rouge a red chair
un manteau
rouge a red coat
des
pull-overs (m. pl.) roses pink sweaters
des
chaussettes (f. pl.) roses pink socks
• Two adjectives of color,
marron and
orange, are invariable
in gender and number.
des
chaussures marron (f. pl.) brown shoes
des sacs orange (m. pl.) orange
handbags
•
The names of colors are masculine when used as nouns. J’aime le rose et le bleu. I love pink and blue.
Adjectives
That Precede the Noun
Most descriptive adjectives
follow the noun, but these adjectives usually
precede it:
|
autre
|
other
|
joli(e)
|
pretty
|
|
beau (m. s.)
|
beautiful, handsome
|
mauvais(e)
|
bad
|
|
bon(ne)
|
good
|
même
|
same
|
|
grand(e)
|
big, tall;
great
|
nouveau (m. s.)
|
new
|
|
gros(se)
|
fat, big
|
petit(e)
|
small; short
|
|
jeune
|
young
|
vieux (m. s.)
|
old
|
•
The adjectives beau (beautiful, handsome), nouveau
(new),
and vieux (old) are irregular. In addition, each has a second masculine singular form that is used before
a vowel sound
or mute h.
Singular Plural
|
Masculine beau beaux
un nouveau livre de nouveaux livres
vieux vieux
|
Masculine bel beaux
Before Vowel
un nouvel objet de nouveaux objets
Sound vieil vieux
|
Feminine belle belles
une nouvelle auto de nouvelles autos
vieille vieilles
Pronounce the examples
below, and practice by substituting other nouns
for maison and
homme. What changes do you need to make in the ar-
ticles and adjectives?
C’est une belle
maison. It’s a
pretty house.
C’est un vieil
homme. He’s an old man.
C’est le nouveau professeur. That’s the new teacher.
•
When a plural adjective precedes
a plural noun, the indefinite
article des
usually shortens to de/d’, as you may have noticed in the previous chart.
de grandes autos (some)
big cars
de nouvelles idées (some)
new ideas
d’autres amis (some) other friends
However, colloquial
French often retains des before the plural. Ce sont des bons copains! They’re good pals!
•
A
few adjectives that usually precede
nouns can also follow them. This
change of position causes a change in meaning. For example:
un ancien professeur (a former teacher)
une maison
ancienne (an ancient [very old] house) le dernier
exercice (the final exercise)
l’année dernière (f.) (last year)
un pauvre garçon (an unfortunate boy) un garçon pauvre (a poor [not rich] boy) une chère
amie (a dear friend)
un
repas cher (an
expensive meal)
Key Vocabulary
Learn these common
adjectives to answer
the question: Comment est...
? (What is . . . like?) when you want
to describe something or someone. Answer with Il
est.../Elle est... (He/She/It is
. . .).
Les adjectifs descriptifs (Descriptive Adjectives)
agréable (pleasant) heureux (-euse) (happy)
avare (stingy) idéaliste (idealistic)
beau (bel, belle) (beautiful/handsome) intelligent(e) (intelligent)
bon (bonne) (good) intéressant(e) (interesting) bon marché (inv.) (inexpensive) jeune (young)
cher (chère) (expensive; dear) joli(e) (pretty)
chic (inv.) (stylish, chic) laid(e) (ugly)
content(e) (happy, pleased) mauvais(e) (bad)
costaud(e) (sturdy [person]) mince (thin)
dernier (-ière) (last, final) nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle (new)
désolé(e) (sorry) pauvre (poor)
difficile (difficult) petit(e) (small;
short)
drôle (funny) premier (-ière) (first)
excellent(e) (excellent) riche (rich)
facile (easy) sincère (sincere)
fantastique (wonderful) sociable (friendly)
fatigué(e) (tired) sympathique (nice)
formidable (fabulous) timide (shy, timid)
fort(e) (strong) triste (sad)
grand(e) (big, tall; great) typique (typical)
gros(se) (fat) vieux/vieil/vieille (old)
Les couleurs (Colors)
blanc(he) (white) blond(e) (blond[e])
bleu(e) (blue) brun(e) (dark-haired)
Exercise 1.4
Write the feminine singular form of the
adjectives given.
1.
intéressant 11.
cher
2.
naïf 12. conservateur
3.
agréable 13. beau
4.
sérieux 14. gros
5.
jaune 15. actif
6.
marron 16. gentil
7.
bleu 17. travailleur
8.
costaud 18. drôle
9.
fier 19. vieux
10.
chic 20. heureux
Exercise 1.5
Complete
the phrases with the correct
adjective that agrees
in gender and number.
1.
le (old) homme
2.
la situation (difficult)
3.
la (beautiful) maison
4.
la personne (nice)
5.
les fleurs (yellow)
6.
des amis (sincere)
7.
un (great) homme
1. une voiture (ancient)
2.
d’ (former) professeurs
3. des appartements (inexpensive)
4. une comédie (funny)
5. un livre (interesting)
Key Vocabulary
In French, names
of all languages are masculine. They often
correspond to the masculine singular form of the noun of nationality: l’anglais (m.) (the English language); l’Anglaise (the Englishwoman). Adjectives of nationality and languages are not capitalized, but nouns are.|
ADJECTIFS
|
PERSONNES
|
LANGUES
|
|
allemand(e) (German)
|
un(e) Allemand(e)
|
l’allemand
|
|
américain(e)
|
un(e) Américain(e)
|
l’anglais
|
|
anglais(e) (English)
|
un(e) Anglais(e)
|
l’anglais
|
|
belge (Belgian)
|
un(e) Belge
|
le français, le flamand
|
|
canadien(ne)
|
un(e) Canadien(ne)
|
l’anglais, le français
|
|
chinois(e)
|
un(e) Chinois(e)
|
le chinois
|
|
espagnol(e) (Spanish)
|
un(e) Espagnol(e)
|
l’espagnol
|
|
français(e) (French)
|
un(e) Français(e)
|
le français
|
|
haïtien(ne)
|
un(e) Haïtien(ne)
|
le français, le créole
|
|
israélien(ne)
|
un(e) Israélien(ne)
|
l’hébreu
|
|
italien(ne)
|
un(e) Italien(ne)
|
l’italien
|
|
japonais(e)
|
un(e) Japonais(e)
|
le japonais
|
|
libanais(e) (Lebanese)
|
un(e) Libanais(e)
|
l’arabe
|
|
marocain(e) (Moroccan)
|
un(e) Marocain(e)
|
l’arabe, le français
|
|
mexicain(e)
|
un(e) Mexicain(e)
|
l’espagnol
|
|
russe (Russian)
|
un(e) Russe
|
le russe
|
|
sénégalais(e)
|
un(e) Sénégalais(e)
|
le français, le wolof
|
|
suisse
|
un(e) Suisse
|
l’allemand, le français,
|
|
|
|
l’italien, le romanche
|
|
vietnamien(ne)
|
un(e) Vietnamien(ne)
|
le vietnamien,
|
|
|
|
le français
|
Exercise 1.6
Write the plural form of each of the
noun-adjective phrases.
1.
une lampe bleue
2.
un ami sérieux
3.
le
chat gris
4.
une Suisse sympathique
5.
une personne costaude
6.
le
bel appartement
7.
un jeune garçon
8.
un examen difficile
9.
le
dernier train
10.
le
quartier ancien
Exercise 1.7
Translate the phrases into French.
1.
the dark-haired men
2.
the kind woman
3.
(some) red shoes
4.
the old hotels
5.
the beautiful apartments
6.
the
interesting courses
7.
the courageous heroes
8.
the
rich appetizers
(some) expensive cars
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