Language/French/Grammar/Nouns

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A noun is a word representing a person, a place, or a thing. In French, all nouns have a gender - masculine or feminine. In this lesson, we will explain how to form the masculine, feminine, and plural of nouns. After mastering this lesson, you can also explore other related topics such as the definite article usage with names of countries, regions, and départements, the difference between subjunctive and indicative in clauses dependent on a superlative adjective, and French punctuation rules.

Masculine	Feminine
un ami (a friend)	une amie (a friend)
un acteur (an actor)	une actrice (an actress)
un musicien (a musician)	une musicienne (a musician)
un boulanger (a baker)	une boulangère (a baker)
le détective (the detective)	la détective (the detective)
le professeur (the professor)	la professeur (the professor)

In French, the masculine and feminine nouns differ, and different articles and adjectives are also used. Countries ending in "-e" are feminine (except "le Mexique"): - le Portugal, le Brésil... - la France, l'Espagne, l'Argentine...

The feminine is generally formed by adding -e to the male, and in some cases, other letters or accents are added. Sometimes, there are different nouns for male and female forms. Some professions are used only in men.

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Noun singular and plural

un livre (a book) des livres (books)

The plural is generally formed by adding -s to the singular.

Some nouns have special plural, according to the termination: -eau becomes -eaux -al becomes -aux -s remains the same -s -z remains the same -z

Some nouns have no singular form

Examples

Singular	Plural
le château (castle)	les châteaux (castles)
le cheval (horse)	les chevaux (horses)
le bus (the bus)	les bus (buses)
le nez (nose)	les nez (noses)
le chien (the dog)	Les chiens (dogs)

Adjectives and nouns:Table of the masculine and feminine endings:

Adjectives	Masculine + E = Feminine	Il est étudiant (He is a student)	Elle est étudiante (She is a student)
		Il est grand (He is tall)	Elle est grande (She is tall)
		Le ciel est bleu (The sky is blue)	La mer est bleue (The sea is blue)

Adjectives	-EN becomes -ENNE	Il est italien (He is italian)	Elle est italienne (She is italian)
		Il est parisien (He is parisian)	Elle est parisienne (She is parisian)
		Il est canadien (He is canadian)	Elle est canadienne (She is canadian)
		Il est européen (He is european)	Elle est européenne (She is european)

Adjectives	-ON becomes -ONNE	Il est bon en sport (He is good at sport)	Elle est bonne en sport (He is good at sport)

Adjectives	-ER- ÈRE	Il est boulanger (He is a baker)	Elle est boulangère (She is a baker)
		Il est boucher (He is a butcher)	Elle est bouchère (She is a butcher)
		Il est policier (He is a policeman)	Elle est policière (She is a police officer)

Adjectives	-EUR and -EUX become -EUSE	Il est heureux (He is happy)	Elle est heureuse (She is happy)
		Il est furieux (He is furious)	Elle est furieuse (She is furious)
		Il est danseur (He is a dancer)	Elle est danseuse (She is a dancer)

Adjectives	-TEUR becomes -TRICE	Il est acteur (He is an actor)	Elle est actrice (She is an actress)
		Il est instituteur (He is primary school teacher)	Elle est institutrice (She is primary school teacher)
		Il est traducteur (He is a translator)	Elle est traductrice (She is a translator)
		Il est directeur (He is a director)	Elle est directrice (She is a director)

Irregular Adjectives	Beau (Beautiful)	Belle
	Vieux (Old)	Vieille
	Blanc (White)	Blanche
	Gentil (Kind/Nice)	Gentille

Adjectives and nouns which never change	Adjectives	Nouns
	Jeune (Young); Calme (Quiet); Drôle (Funny); Stupide (Stupid); Bizarre/Étrange (Strange); Sage (Wise); Triste (Sad)	Un(e) journaliste (A journalist); Un(e) peintre (A painter); Un(e) ministre (A minister); Un(e) maire (A mayor); Un(e) pompier (A fireman); Un(e) juge (A judge); Un(e) sage-femme (A midwife); Un(e) militaire (A serviceman/servicewoman); Un(e) gendarme (A gendarme = police officer [other branch of the french police and army]); Un(e) médecin (General practitioner GP); Un(e) dentiste (A dentist); Un(e) psychologue (A psychologist); Un(e) gynécologue (A gynaecologist); Un(e) scientifique (A scientist); Un(e) astronaute (An astronaut); Un(e) archéologue (An archaeologist) ................

Nouns that end up in "oir"

• The mascunlin nouns finished by the sound "oir" is written "oir"

Exemple : un couloir (hallway), un rasoir (razor),...

Exception : un accessoire (accessory), un auditoire (audience), de l'ivoire (ivory), un conservatoire (conservatory), un laboratoire (laboratory), un observatoire (observatory), un réfectoire (refectory), un répertoire (repertory), un territoire (land).

• All the nouns finished by the sound "oir" is written "oire"

Exemple : une histoire, une victoire,...

Nouns that end up in "sion"

• After "a", "i", "o" and "u", we write "tion"

Exemple : La nation (nation), une addition (addition), l'émotion (emotion), une résolution (resolution)

Exception : la discussion (debate), l'émission (show), la mission (mission), la passion (passion)

• After "e", we write "ession"

Exemple : la pression (pressure)

Exception: la discrétion (discreet)

• After a consonate, we write "sion" or "tion", you must consult the dictionary.

Exemple : la pension (board), une direction (direction)

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood and Future Tense
• Agreement of the past participle having the auxiliary "être" in compound tenses
• Verbs with personal subject used impersonally
• Stressed pronouns used as the object of a preposition
• Adverbs
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives — A change in the final consonant or syllable
• Omission of the article in lists
• Stressed pronouns
• Forms of créer, nier, scier, rire, etc
• Summary table of subject pronouns