LinguaLe, la, l’: every noun is masculine or feminine
Every French noun has a gender, masculine or feminine – things included: le livre (the book) is masculine, la table (the table) is feminine. Gender is not logic, it is memory, so learn each noun together with its article. “The” has three singular shapes: le for a masculine noun, la for a feminine one, and l’ for either gender before a vowel or a silent h: l’école, l’ami, l’hôtel. In the plural there is one form for both genders: les – les livres, les tables, les écoles.
| Article | Used with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le | a masculine noun before a consonant | le livre |
| la | a feminine noun before a consonant | la table |
| l’ | either gender before a vowel or silent h | l’école |
| les | any plural noun | les amis |
Le livre est ici et la table est là.The book is here and the table is there.
Un, une, des: one and some
“A / an” is un with a masculine noun and une with a feminine one: un stylo, une chaise. The plural is des – “some”, which English often leaves out: des amis = friends, some friends. A plural noun takes an -s that you do NOT hear: livre and livres sound the same, so the article is what tells you the number – le livre / les livres, un livre / des livres. Before a vowel the s of les and des is pronounced z and links to the noun: les amis, des écoles. With c’est you get c’est un stylo, and in the plural ce sont des stylos.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| un livre | des livres | a book / books |
| une chaise | des chaises | a chair / chairs |
| le sac | les sacs | the bag / the bags |
| la maison | les maisons | the house / the houses |
| l’ami | les amis | the friend / the friends – hear the z of les amis |
Un stylo, une chaise, des livres : c’est l’école !A pen, a chair, books: that is school!
Clues to gender: -tion, -age, -ment, -e
You cannot always guess a gender, but endings help a lot. -tion is always feminine: la question, la station, la nation. -age and -ment are almost always masculine: le garage, le fromage, l’appartement, le moment. A final -e is feminine more often than not – la table, la chaise, la voiture – but with famous exceptions you simply learn: le livre, le téléphone. Nouns for people follow the person: un ami / une amie, un étudiant / une étudiante. When the ending says nothing, the article you memorised is the answer: le sac, la maison.
| Ending | Gender | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -tion | always feminine | la question, la station |
| -age | masculine (almost always) | le garage, le fromage |
| -ment | masculine | l’appartement, le moment |
| -e | often feminine, with exceptions | la chaise, la voiture, mais le livre |
Le garage est ici, l’appartement est là.The garage is here, the flat is there.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le livre | the book (masculine) | Le livre de Paul est ici. Paul’s book is here. |
| la table | the table (feminine) | Une table pour deux, s’il vous plaît. A table for two, please. |
| l’école | the school (feminine) | L’école est fermée. The school is closed. |
| un stylo | a pen (masculine) | C’est un stylo japonais. It is a Japanese pen. |
| une chaise | a chair (feminine) | C’est une chaise ou une table ? Is it a chair or a table? |
| des amis | friends, some friends (plural) | Ce sont des amis de Lyon. They are friends from Lyon. |
| la maison | the house; home (feminine) | Nous sommes à la maison. We are at home. |
| le sac | the bag (masculine) | Le sac est là, madame. The bag is there, madam. |
| la voiture | the car (feminine) | La voiture est japonaise. The car is Japanese. |
| un téléphone | a phone (masculine) | Le téléphone de Marc est là. Marc’s phone is there. |
| une question | a question (feminine) | C’est une bonne question. That is a good question. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You want to say “the school”. Which form is right?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.