French grammar · Beginner (A1)
Nouns: masculine, feminine and plural
Every French noun is masculine or feminine. Learn some helpful endings and how to make nouns plural.
Masculine or feminine?
A noun is a word for a person, a thing or an idea. In French, every noun is either masculine or feminine, even objects: (the book) is masculine and (the table) is feminine.
There is no complete rule, so the best habit is to learn each noun together with its article: not just but (a car). Some endings are a good clue.
| Usually masculine | Usually feminine |
|---|---|
| -age: (cheese) | -tion: (the question) |
| -ment: (the moment) | -té: (health) |
| -eau: (the office) | -ette: (the baguette) |
| -isme: (tourism) | -ence, -ance: (luck) |
People: two forms
Many nouns for people have a masculine and a feminine form. Often you add -e for a woman: , (a friend). You can't hear the difference in and , but you can in and .
Some endings change: -eur often becomes -euse, and -ien becomes -ienne. Some nouns, like or , only change their article.
| Man | Woman | English |
|---|---|---|
| a student | ||
| a shop assistant | ||
| a musician | ||
| a journalist |
Making nouns plural
Most nouns add -s in the plural: , . The -s is silent, so you usually hear the plural only in the article: and .
Nouns that already end in -s, -x or -z don't change. Nouns in -eau add -x, and most nouns in -al change to -aux.
| Singular | Plural | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| add -s | ||
| , | , | -s, -x, -z: no change |
| -eau: add -x | ||
| -al: -aux | ||
| irregular (eye, eyes) |
- J'ai acheté deux journaux.I bought two newspapers.
- Les gâteaux sont délicieux.The cakes are delicious.