Language/French/Grammar/Proper-nouns
[CHANGED]
Proper nouns are names like:
- Persons: Jean-Paul, Vincent, Céline, Yann
- Cities: Paris, Marseille, Angers, Aix-en-Provence
- Rivers: La Seine, Le Rhône, La Tamise, Le Rhin
- Regions: La Normandie, L'Alsace
- Countries: La France, Le Congo, les Etats-Unis, Le Royaume-Uni
Persons
There is usually no article:
- Jean-Paul viendra demain
Marie-Paule will come tomorrow
Informal Speech
In some cases, an article is added informally, in some French regions:
- Dis donc, elle était pas fière, la Marie-Jeanne!
Marie-Jeanne must have felt a bit of a fool! (Litteraly: Hey, she wasn't proud, Marie-Jeanne!)
- T'aurais vu la tête qu'il faisait, le Rémi!
You should have seen Rémi's face! (Litteraly: You would have seen the face he was making, the Rémi!)
Reference to a family
This reflects a familiar and affectionate attitude towards the person concerned. When referring to a family, as in "the Durant family", a plural article is used, but the name itself is not plural (unlike in English):
- J'ai invité les Durant à venir samedi soir
I invited the Durants to come on Saturday night
Title
When a person's title is used, the definite article is usually added:
- Je vous présente le Professeur Alfred
May I introduce Professor Alfred (litteraly: I present to you Professor Alfred)
- chez le Docteur Charles
c/o Dr Charles (on an envelope or package)
Preceding adjectives Modification
When proper nouns are modified by preceding adjectives, they require a definite article:
- le petit Fred
little Fred
- le gros Carlos
fat Carlos
Regions and countries
Unlike in English, regions and countries are normally used with a definite article:
- J'ai visité la Bretagne
I visited Britany
- la France d'autrefois
The France of yesteryear
- Nous survolons l'Espagne
We fly over Spain
Types of Nouns (all lessons)