The gender of nouns and the definite article feminine Flashcards
a.
Ali French nouns have a gender. They are either masculine or
feminine, whether they refer to a person, a thing, an animal, or an
abstract notion. Thus, while English has only one definite article, “the,”
French uses le for masculine singular nouns, and la for feminine
singular nouns.
la femme
the woman
la chambre
the bedroom
b.
Le and la become l’ in front of nouns starting with a vowel or a mute h.
l’amie
the friend
l’Anglaise
the Englishwoman
c.
Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, -ette tend to be
feminine.
la nature
nature
la télévision
television
la nation
nation
la clarinette
clarinette
la transparence
transparency
d.
Sorne nouns have both a masculine and a feminine form. To obtain
the feminine form, add an e to the masculine form.
la danseuse
dancer
la chanteuse
singer
l’actrice
actress
la directrice
director
la passagère
passenger
l’étrangère
foreigner
la Parisienne
Parisian
l’Italienne
ltalian
f.
Some nouns bear one meaning when masculine and another when
feminine.
la livre
pound
la poêle
frying pan
la moule
mussel
la rose
rose (the flower)
la page
page
