Language/French/Grammar/Nouns

2021-05-16T06:29:23Z

Bayo2425: I changed people to replace dog

[[File:les-noms-en-francais.jpg|300px]]

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.

{| class="wikitable"

! |
Masculine

! |
Feminine

|-
|
un ami (a friend)

|
une ami'''e''' (a friend)

|-
|
un acteur (an actor)

|
une '''actrice''' (an
actress)

|-
|
un musicien (a musician)

|
une musicien'''ne''' (a
musician)

|-
|
un boulanger (a baker)

|
une boulang'''ère''' (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. 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 :

===Examples===
==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===
{| class="wikitable"

!|
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)

|}

=== {{#seo:
|title=How to use the punctuation in French?
|keywords=grammar, feminine, masculine, plural, examples
|description=This lesson will teach you how to use nouns in French sentenses
|og:image=https://polyglotclub.com/wiki/images/2/2f/Les-noms-en-francais.jpg
}}'''Adjectives and nouns:Table of the masculine and feminine endings:''' ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Adjectives
!Masculine + E = Feminine
!Il est étudian'''t'''
(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)
!
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!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)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!Adjectives
!-ON becomes -ONNE
!Il est bon en sport
(He is good at sport)
!Elle est bonne en sport
(He is good at sport)
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!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)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!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)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!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)
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!Irregular Adjectives
!Beau (Beautiful)
!Belle
|-
|
|Vieux (Old)
|Vieille
|-
|
|Blanc (White)
|Blanche
|-
|
|Gentil (Kind/Nice)
|Gentille
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!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)
[[Category: French/Beginner]]
[[Category: French/Grammar]]

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