Masculine Feminine Definite Articles with the Names of Countries in French. 3 main islands a number of tiny islets located 280 km northeast of Fiji. They apply everywhere. In the two phrases above, the nationality "Anglais(e)" is used as a noun and refer to a persons nationality so they are both capitalized. We have to determine the gender of a word so we know which one to use. Yes in French 10 ways to say oui in French, Why you cant speak French but you understand it a bit, The most common french word is going to solve one of your biggest problem, The best French textbook How to choose. Dummies helps everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know. There would probably be some healthy of videos of speaking French, as well as information like yours that give information about the basics of the language. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. In French language, all adjectives agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the nouns and pronous that they modify. For example, grammatically in French, Spanish, Italian - money is considered masculine. When to capitalize and when not to capitalize. For cities, its almost always feminine. Gender matters in French. Masculine nouns use the definite article le and the indefinite article un, whereas feminin nouns use the definite article la and the indefinite article une. There are a lot of options when it comes to language learning textbooks. One such appliance is the Human body and mind are inseparable. Masculine nouns usually end in -e, -el, or -en, while feminine nouns usually end in -e or -ion. While in English, nouns are generally considered to be either masculine or feminine, in French there are actually three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. On top of that, there are many exceptions. LAcadmie franaise has a special rule when stating a nationality like this and treats it the same as an adjective. sierra-lonaise. Words that end in -age, as in message and mirage, and -eau, like manteau (coat) and chapeau (hat), are usually masculine. Linguists translate them to some or any, but more often than not, theyre not even used. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. It may seem strange to us that chairs and tables are feminine whereas sofas and curtains are masculine, but that is one of the things we have to accept when learning French. So any rule that you heard, especially rules about grammatical gender, are rules that have been deduced from the way French people were already using gender. Note that many French professions have only a masculine form. So if one is feminine, then the other need to be too. Examples: regarding not only professions but the whole French language arising out of feminism and the gender equality movement. Il faisait pas mal d'argent lorsqu'il travaillait. Wed love to keep you updated with our latest content. Let me know in the comments below. Modern English is much simpler and does not distinguish between them. The most famous person to use the word was Catherine de Medici, who also introduced it to France. To make sure all the words of a sentence are singing the same tune. ", EXCETION TO CAPITALIZING SOMEONES NATIONALITY IN FRENCH. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. "Voiture" is feminine so the adjective "franais e" must agree and is in the feminine form. Names of trees: chne (oak tree), olivier (olive tree), pommier (apple tree), Names of metals: or (gold), acier (steel), fer (iron), Names of metric units: mtre (a meter), kilo (a kilo), centimtre (centimeter), Names of colors: le rouge (red), le vert (green), le bleu (blue), Names of languages: le chinois (chinese), lallemand (german), le franais (French), Nouns of English origin: tennis (tennis), parking (parking lot), football (soccer). Let's start with definite articles. It was truly comprehensive, insightful, and everything. I have allowed myself to use such sloppy English that I have to stop and think sometimes when I say something, or mainly write. You will receive an email asking to confirm your subscription. However, there are a number of French nouns which are identical in pronunciation (and often spelling as well) but which have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine. One cannot work without the other. What is a romance language? Over 100,000 French translations of English words and phrases. One popular tactic is to say that every word ending in "e" is feminine (la). Saying "une bureau" or "un chaise" is incorrect, but still understandable. Thats why I decided to open this blog. When I'm not eating cheese, drinking wine or hanging out with my husband and children, I write articles on my personal blog annieandre.com for intellectually curious people interested in all things France: Life in France, travel to France, French culture, French language, travel and more. Vegetables French vocabulary list. How to say yes in French? Because its as easy to use as Google Translate, and its actually better because it gives you all sorts of definitions, examples in context, AND the gender of nouns! They use the article -la (or -l' if the country starts with a vowel.). So if one is feminine, then the other need to be too. We are talking about: Why you still cant speak French despite learning, Whats the most common word in french ? If you are a native speaker of the many languages that do have grammatical gender (like Spanish, Portuguese, hell even Romanian), then good! Designed by Moxie Grafix. : The movie was good. A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Thats not the case in French. A French teacher tells you what are the best French textbooks. Finally, for plural we use des. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. un arbre (masc.) The different forms for adjectives depend mostly on the final letter (s) of the default form of the adjective, which is the masculine singular. Or how nationality in French can be masculine and feminine in the same phrase? Examples: le frigo (the refrigerator), le ventilateur (the fan), le lapin (the rabbit), etc. By the way, what language do you speak if you dont mind my asking? But there are far too many words that end in "e" that turn out to be masculine, making this approach difficult to use with any degree of accuracy. Feminine and masculine in French. But if you are referring to tea as a beverage, then it is masculine. The idea is surely appealing to learn. The Power of Mental Rehearsal & How You Can Use This for Success. The above-mentioned examples represents the singular form of a noun whose translations include "display," "exhibit," "inspection," "show,". You have a better understanding of what it does and what it means. Although, thats not how languages work. Reveal answer. We may feel overwhelmed and at a loss at what to do when studying a language. Well there are actually quite a few words you can use. Sure enough, German speakers described bridges as beautiful, elegant, fragile, pretty, and slender, while Spanish speakers said. A woman is feminine, and you'd use "her, she, her" to talk about her. Languages can be confusing, especially when there are so many differences and exceptions. Not sure, we have that. One thing that will definitely help you improve your French is to know the gender of nouns. COPYRIGHT 2022 TOPICTEA. In my language, we do not have the male for female words for things, we just add another word to the back and done deal, lol. However, some job titles only use the masculine form for both men and women. Words are either feminine and masculine in French, thats all. Which are. For feminine singular nouns, we use une. I believe that is very, very important.. How do know if its feminine or masculine? In fact, it would be safe to say everything has a gender in French. For example: The word cheval","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"When a French noun describes a live being, its gender () often reflects the gender of the being in question. For nouns that describe things and concepts, logic has nothing to do with the gender. Is Africa masculine or feminine in French? Team, ThoughtCo. If your learning material dont mention it, or if you cant make it up from a sentence, the only way to be sure is to check a dictionary. It doesnt matter if the nouns are masculine or feminine. Why France is the best country in the world? Allons-y! la pomme apple l'abricot apricot la banane banana la cerise cherry le noix de coco coconut le fruit fruit le raisin grape le pamplemousse grapefruit le melon melon l'orange orange la pche peach la poire pear l'ananas pineapple la prune plum la framboise raspberry la frase What do you think? 1 The basic rules. Tisane (masculine) refers to tea consumed alone or in company, while th (feminine) refers to a shared drink between friends or family members. Uninhabited 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) ring-shaped coral reef in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Island located in French Caribbean sea islands 577 km from Puerto Rico, In northern Atlantic coast of South America. Ok, now what does feminine and masculine in French matter? Even for Spanish speakers and other speakers whose languages have genders, we sometimes make mistakes when telling genders apart. Vocabulary Words Words denoting money or price: l'argent (money), la carte de crdit (credit card), le porte-monnaie (wallet), le prix (price), la vente (sale). All male family members are masculine. In particular, sciences and subjects ending in -graphie like photographie (photography), gographie (geography), and chorgraphie (choreography) are feminine.
\r\n\r\n \tNames of automobiles: une Renault (a Renault), une Porsche (a Porsche), une Fiat (a Fiat).
\r\nNames of businesses: boulangerie (bread shop), parfumerie (perfume shop), charcuterie (deli).
\r\nVéronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. The gender of carotte is feminine. For example: The word cheval ( horse) is masculine, whereas jument ( mare) is feminine, because they both reflect the gender of the animal. Rules to Remember About Country Names And Nationalities In French. The fact is that many more people typically attribute a masculine energy to money. I have a question If someone is talking to a woman about a man, for example, The maid (a female) walked up to Chloe and told her that she had a visitor (a male) Hence, the feminine country names la France (France), la Belgique (Belgium), l'Allemagne (Germany), l'Algrie (Algeria), la Chine (China), la Guyane (Guiana), la Russie (Russia), la Core (Korea). Others are always feminine, like une voiture (a car), une maison (a house), and une cole (a school). There are different ways to find out a noun's gender: we can look in the dictionary and check for the abbreviations m. (masculine) or f. (feminine); we can check the noun's ending, which generally gives an indication whether the noun is masculine or feminine; or we can look at the noun's article. We will talk about this in further detail in a later post. French nouns and articles. YAY. I found your site very informative. Is hotel a French word? https://www.thoughtco.com/french-nouns-with-two-genders-1371193 (accessed March 2, 2023). French words are not capitalized as often as they are in English. But we do it anyway. You asked what I thought? There is some controversy regarding not only professions but the whole French language arising out of feminism and the gender equality movement. "c'est l'arbre qui cache la fort" (proverb): this is the tree which is hiding the forest. to be in the money (informal) (= have plenty of money) se faire beaucoup d'argent to have money to burn avoir de l'argent perdre We use le for masculine singular nouns. Now for beginners, youre set. Thats why, there are so many you cant count. How many French speaking countries are there in North Africa? If country name ends in (-ais, -ois, or -ain): Add an (e) to the end. For the most part, nouns included in the following categories are masculine:\r\n
- \r\n \t
- \r\n
Names of trees: chne (oak tree), olivier (olive tree), pommier (apple tree)
\r\n \r\n \t - \r\n
Names of metals: or (gold), acier (steel), fer (iron)
\r\n \r\n \t - \r\n
Names of metric units: mtre (a meter), kilo (a kilo), centimtre (centimeter)
\r\n \r\n \t - \r\n
Names of colors: le rouge (red), le vert (green), le bleu (blue)
\r\n \r\n \t - \r\n
Names of languages: le chinois (chinese), lallemand (german), le franais (French)
\r\n \r\n \t - \r\n
Nouns of English origin: tennis (tennis), parking (parking lot), football (soccer)
\r\n \r\n
How to identify feminine French nouns
\r\nSome noun endings typically designate female gender and some common examples.\r\n| Noun Ending | \r\nExamples | \r\n
|---|---|
| -ade | \r\nfaade (facade), promenade\r\n(a walk), limonade (lemon\r\ndrink) | \r\n
| -ance | \r\nenfance (childhood), naissance\r\n(birth), assurance\r\n(insurance) | \r\n
| -e | \r\nide (idea), journe\r\n(day), mosque\r\n(mosque) | \r\n
| -ence | \r\ndiffrence (difference),\r\ninnocence (innocence), influence\r\n(influence) | \r\n
| -ette | \r\ncrevette (shrimp), chaussette\r\n(sock), baguette\r\n(baguette) | \r\n
| -ie | \r\ncomdie (comedy), industrie\r\n(industry), dmographie\r\n(demography) | \r\n
| -sion | \r\nprvision (forecast),\r\ncomprhension (understanding),\r\nrvision (revision) | \r\n
| -t | \r\nsocit (society),\r\npublicit (advertising),\r\ncharit (charity) | \r\n
| -ti | \r\namiti (friendship),\r\nmoiti (half), piti\r\n(pity) | \r\n
| -tion | \r\ninformation (information),\r\nducation (education), question\r\n(question) | \r\n
| -ure | \r\nvoiture (car), couverture\r\n(blanket), confiture\r\n(jelly/jam) | \r\n