A noun is a word that typically refers to an entity or concept of some kind, e.g. livre ‘book’, ami ‘friend’, bière ‘beer’, bonheur ‘happiness’, and is the main constituent of the subject of a clause, the object of a verb or the object of a preposition. French nouns may co-occur with articles (le livre ‘the book’, un ami ‘a friend’) and modifying adjectives (un roman français ‘a French novel’, mon cher ami ‘my dear friend’). There are different subclasses of noun, typically determined by meaning, that have different distributional properties which are described in this chapter: abstract (bonheur ‘happiness’, beauté ‘beauty’), concrete (bière ‘beer’, roman ‘novel’), mass (eau ‘water’, beurre ‘butter’), count (bouteille ‘bottle’, billet ‘ticket’), collective (comité ‘committee’, gouvernement ‘government’) and proper (names) (Jean-Pierre, France). French nouns belong to one of two gender classes – masculine or feminine (le bâtiment ‘the building’, but la maison ‘the house’) – and they may vary in form when they are singular or plural (cheval ‘horse’, but chevaux ‘horses’). Nouns can be simple (une cour ‘a yard’, un marteau ‘a hammer’) or compound (une basse-cour ‘a farmyard’, un marteaupiqueur ‘a pneumatic drill’). Compound nouns have their own rules for gender and number assignment (see 1.2.11 and 1.3.9).
Concrete nouns refer to entities with physical attributes which can be seen, heard, touched, etc. Abstract nouns refer to entities without such physical attributes:
| Typical concrete nouns | |
| bière (f) | beer |
| bonbon (m) | sweet |
| cadeau (m) | present |
| carte (f) | card |
| disque (m) | disk |
| église (f) | church |
| livre (m) | book |
| mannequin (m) | (fashion) model |
| Typical abstract nouns | |
| beauté (f) | beauty |
| bonheur (m) | happiness |
| bonté (f) | goodness |
| patience (f) | patience |
| mœurs (f pl) | customs, morals |
| savoir (m) | knowledge |
| silence (m) | silence |
| soif (f) | thirst |
Abstract nouns in French are usually accompanied by a definite article whereas English has no article:
But when abstract nouns refer to a particular example of ‘patience’, ‘happiness’, ‘knowledge’, and so on (for instance, when they are modified by an adjective), they occur with an indefinite article:
(See Chapter 2 for definite and indefinite articles.)
Count nouns identify individual entities, and usually have both singular and plural forms. Mass nouns treat the entity or entities they refer to as a single unit, and typically have only a singular form (although some mass nouns only have a plural form):
| Typical count nouns | |
| une bouteille | a bottle |
| des bouteilles | bottles |
| un chien | a dog |
| des chiens | dogs |
| une personne | a person |
| des personnes | people |
| Typical mass nouns | |
| de l'air | air |
| du beurre | butter |
| de l'eau | water |
| du gâteau | cake |
| des cheveux | hair |
| du sable | sand |
Mass nouns in French are usually accompanied by the partitive article (see Chapter 2.4) – du, de l’, de la or des – in those cases where English has ‘some’ or no article at all:
Some mass nouns can be used countably to refer to specific examples of the substance in question:
| les vins de France | the wines of France |
| les fromages de Normandie | the cheeses of Normandy |
| un pain | a loaf of bread |
| un petit pain | a bun |
Some count nouns can also be used as mass nouns:
| Prenez du poulet | Have some chicken |
| Il met du citron dans tout | He puts lemon in everything |
Collective nouns refer to collections of people or things.
| Typical collective nouns | |
| assistance (f) | audience |
| comité (m) | committee |
| équipe (f) | team |
| foule (f) | crowd |
| gouvernement (m) | government |
| linge (m) de maison | household linen |
| main-d'oeuvre (f) | workforce |
| peuple (m) | people |
| vaisselle (f) | dishes, crockery |
When a collective noun is the subject of a clause, the verb is usually singular. This contrasts with English, where the verb can be either singular or plural:
(For more on subject- verb agreement see Chapter 9.1.)
personnes and gens, both of which mean ‘people’, differ in their uses because personnes is a count noun and gens, which is only found in the plural form, behaves like a collective noun. Only personnes can be preceded directly by a number (e.g. cinq), or the quantifiers plusieurs ‘several’ and quelques ‘a few’:
By the same token, gens tends to be used in contexts where ‘people’ refers to people in general:
However, gens can be preceded by beaucoup de ‘many’, peu de ‘few’, un nombre de ‘a number of’, tous les ‘all the’ and la plupart des ‘most’, and when an adjective precedes gens, the adjective can be preceded by a number:
Proper nouns are names like Marie-Paule, Paris, Toulouse, Le Havre, la Seine, la France, le Canada.
With persons there is usually no article:
In some cases an article is inserted in informal speech:
This conveys a familiar, affectionate attitude towards the individual concerned.
When reference is made to a family, as in ‘the Jones family’, a plural article is used, but the name itself is not pluralized:
When a person’s title is used, it is normally accompanied by the definite article:
When proper nouns are modified by preceding adjectives, they require a definite article:
| le petit Jules | little Jules |
| le gros Henri | fat Henri |
Unlike in English, regions and countries are normally used with a definite article:
| J'ai visité la Normandie | I visited Normandy |
| la France d'aujourd'hui | today's France |
| Nous survolons la Belgique | We're flying over Belgium |
(See Chapter 2.2.2 for the use of articles with regions and countries.)
English has only one word for each of ‘morning’, ‘evening’, ‘day’ and ‘year’. French has two, but each is used under different circumstances. It is often said that the -ée forms are used when the activity which takes place during the morning, evening, etc. is highlighted. Compare:
But there are other cases where the forms have distinct uses which appear to be the result simply of convention:
| par une belle matinée | on a beautiful morning |
| tôt le matin | early in the morning |
| Un beau matin il est parti | One fine morning he up and left |
| tous les jours/matins/ans | every day/morning/year |
| l'an 2000 | the year 2000 |
| le jour de l'an | New Year's Day |
| le nou vel an | the New Year |
| souhaiter la bonne année à qn | to wish someone a Happy New Year |
| les années 70 | the 70s |
| l'année précédente/suivante | the previous/following year |
With preceding numbers the forms without - ée are normally used:
| Il a cinq ans | He is five |
| trois fois par jour | three times a day |
But if an adjective modifies the noun as well this seems to highlight the activity:
| trois bonnes années | three good years |
| six longues journées | six long days |
Nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. Unfortunately there are no simple rules which non- native speakers can use to predict with complete accuracy the gender of a given noun. However, there are some patterns, either in the form or meaning of nouns, which can normally be used to predict the correct gender with greater than chance accuracy. The reader should remember, however, that these patterns are not comprehensive, and that there are exceptions.
Many nouns whose singular written form ends in a consonant are masculine:
| -c | un tic a twitch (un lac a lake, le public the public, etc.) |
| -d | le bord the edge (le fond the bottom, le pied the foot, etc.) |
| -g | un camping a camp site (un parking a car park, un shampooing a shampoo, etc.) |
| -l | un détail a detail (le travail work, le soleil the sun, etc.) |
| -r | le fer iron (l’hiver winter, un couloir a corridor, etc.) |
| -t | le chocolat chocolate (le climat the climate, un jouet a toy, un poulet a chicken, le ciment cement, un jugement a judgement, etc.) |
Exceptions are typically found with nouns which end in -n, -r, -s, -t, and -x:
| une maison | a house |
| une cuiller | a spoon |
| la mer | the sea |
| une tour | a tower |
| une fois | one time |
| une dent | a tooth |
| une nuit | a night |
| une jument | a mare |
| une croix | a cross |
Nouns ending in -on are usually masculine (un poisson ‘a fish’, un sillon ‘a furr ow’, etc., although une chanson ‘a song’ is an exception). But nouns ending in -aison, -(s)sion, -tion or -xion are usually feminine:
| une comparaison | a comparison |
| une liaison | a liaison |
| une maison | a house |
| une raison | a reason |
| une saison | a season |
| une décision | a decision |
| la tension | tension, blood pressure |
| une vision | a vision |
| une émission | a broadcast |
| une connexion | a connection |
Exception: un bastion a bastion
Nouns ending in -eur are usually masculine (un ordinateur a computer, le bonheur happiness, etc.), but the following frequently- used nouns are feminine:
| la chaleur | the heat |
| une couleur | a colour |
| une erreur | a mistake |
| une fleur | a flower |
| la largeur | the width |
| la longueur | the length |
| la peur | fear |
| la profondeur | the depth |
Many nouns whose singular written form ends in a vowel (but excluding -e without an acute accent) are masculine, although there are a significant number of exceptions:
-ai, -oi
| un délai | a time limit |
| un essai | an attempt (a 'try' in rugby) |
| un emploi | a job |
| un roi | a king |
Exceptions: la foi faith, une loi a law, une paroi a wall
-é
| le café | the café or coffee |
| un fossé | a ditch |
| le marché | the market |
| le thé | tea |
Exception: une clé a key
-eau
| un couteau | a knife |
| un marteau | a hammer |
| le niveau | the level |
| le réseau | the network |
| un tableau | a picture |
Exceptions: l’eau water, la peau skin
-i
| l'abri | shelter |
| un cri | a shout |
| un pari | a bet |
| un pli | a fold |
| un raccourci | a short-cut |
| un bijou | a jewel |
| un caillou | a pebble |
| un clou | a nail |
| un genou | a knee |
| le hibou | the owl |
Many nouns whose singular written form ends in -e without an acute accent are feminine:
But there are a large number of exceptions to this rule:
-isme
Nouns ending in -isme are masculine: le romantisme ‘romanticism’, le tourisme ‘tourism’, un idiotisme ‘an idiom (linguistic)’, etc.
-ède, -ège, -ème
Nouns with these endings are usually masculine:
| un intermède | an interlude |
| un cortège | a procession |
| un piège | a trap |
| un stratège | a strategist |
| un poème | a poem |
| le système | the system |
| le thème | the theme or translation into a foreign language |
la crème cream is an exception (but see 1.2.4).
-age
Nouns ending in -age are usually masculine, but there are some notable exceptions:
| le courage | courage |
| un garage | a garage |
| un message | a message |
| un stage | a work placement |
| un voyage | a journey |
Exceptions: une cage a cage, une image a picture, une page a page, une plage a beach, la rage rabies.
Other common exceptions:
| un grade | a rank |
| un stade | a stadium |
| un groupe | a group |
| le monde | the world |
| le capitaine | the captain |
| le domaine | the area |
| le silence | silence |
| un musée | a museum |
| un lycée | a (sixth-form) college |
| un trophée | a trophy |
| un génie | a genius |
| un incendie | a fire |
| un cimetière | a cemetery |
| le derrière | the backside |
| un magazine | a magazine |
| le platine | platinum |
| un pare-brise | a windscreen |
| un intervalle | an interval |
| le rebelle | the rebel |
| le chèvrefeuille | honeysuckle |
| un chêne | an oak tree |
| un hêtre | a beech tree |
| un gorille | a gorilla |
| un portefeuille | a wallet |
| un carosse | a carriage |
| un squelette | a skeleton |
| un renne | a reindeer |
| le mercure | mercury |
| un murmure | a murmur |
| un gramme | a gram |
| un kilogramme | a kilogram |
| un mètre | a metre |
| un kilomètre | a kilometre |
| un litre | a litre |
| un parapluie | an umbrella |
NB: Most words with the prefix para- are masculine: un parachute ‘a parachute’, un paratonnerre ‘a lightning conductor’, le parapente ‘paragliding’, un paravent ‘wind-shield, screen’.
In the past, a number of nouns referring to professions, trades or titles associated predominantly with men had only a masculine form. However, with women present in all spheres of society in the modern world, a French government commission of the 1980s (la commission générale de terminologie et de néologie) made a set of proposals for the ‘féminisation . . . des noms de métier, grade, fonction ou titre’. Although some of the proposed feminine forms of nouns have been slow to enter general usage, they have strong political backing in France, and are reflected in the lists presented in this section and in 1.2.3. In practice, where feasible, it is probably best to ask the woman in question what the appropriate form of address is.
Some nouns can refer either to males or to females simply by changing the determiner from masculine to feminine:
| un/une adulte | an adult |
| un/une adversaire | an adversary |
| un/une architecte | an architect |
| un/une artiste | an artist |
| un/une bibliothécaire | a librarian |
| un/une camarade | a comrade |
| un/une célibataire | a bachelor/spinster (an unmarried person) |
| un/une chef | a boss, head |
| un/une chimiste | a chemist (scientist) |
| un/une collègue | a colleague |
| un/une compatriote | a compatriot |
| un/une complice | an accomplice |
| un/une concierge | a caretaker |
| un/une convive | a guest |
| un/une dentiste | a dentist |
| un/une élève | a (school) pupil |
| un/une enfant | a child |
| un/une esclave | a slave |
| un/une fonctionnaire | a civil servant |
| un/une gosse | a kid (a word for a child in informal French) |
| un/une interprète | an interpreter |
| un/une journaliste | a journalist |
| un/une juge | a judge |
| un/une libraire | a bookseller |
| un/une locataire | a tenant |
| un/une maire | a mayor |
| un/une malade | a person who is ill |
| un/une ministre | a minister |
| un/une notaire | a solicitor |
| un/une partenaire | a partner |
| un/une patriote | a patriot |
| un/une peintre | a painter |
| un/une pensionnaire | a boarder (as in boarding school) |
| un/une philosophe | a philosopher |
| un/une photographe | a photographer |
| un/une pianiste | a pianist |
| un/une pique-assiette | a sponger |
| un/une secrétaire | a secretary |
| un/une témoin | a witness |
| un/une touriste | a tourist |
| un/une vampire | a vampire |
In forms of address to women office holders, either feminine or masculine articles are used: Madame la Ministre/Madame le Ministre, Madame la Maire/Madame le Maire, etc.
NB: pupille meaning ‘pupil of the eye’ is feminine only. In set expressions such as pupille de la Nation, pupille de l’Etat the noun refers to a child whose education is paid for by the state. With this meaning pupille may be masculine or feminine according to the sex of the child.
For words ending in - i, -é, -u, -l an - e is added in the written form and the pronunciation remains the same:
| un ami | une amie | a friend |
| un employé | une employée | an employee (worker) |
| un rival | une rivale | a rival |
| un consul | une consule | a consul |
For words ending in - d, - t, - ois, - ais, - er, - ier an - e is added and the final consonant, previously not pronounced, is pronounced:
| un marchand | une marchande | a trader |
| un adjoint | une adjointe | a deputy, assistant |
| un avocat | une avocate | a lawyer |
| un candidat | une candidate | a candidate |
| un magistrat | une magistrate | a magistrate |
| un préfet | une préfète | a prefect |
| un président | une présidente | a president |
| un bourgeois | une bourgeoise | a bourgeois(e) |
| un boulanger | une boulangère | a baker |
| un berger | une bergère | a shepherd |
| un fermier | une fermière | a farmer |
| un caissier | une caissière | a checkout operator |
| un menuisier | une menuisière | a carpenter |
| un pompier | une pompière | a fireman, a firewoman |
| un romancier | une romancière | a novelist |
For words ending in - ien, - on, - an, - in, - ain in written form - (n)e is added and the final vowel, previously pronounced as a nasal vowel, is pronounced as an oral vowel plus - n:
| un chien | une chienne | a dog/a bitch |
| un chirurgien | une chirurgienne | a surgeon |
| un electricien | une électricienne | an electrician |
| un informaticien | une informaticienne | a computer scientist, an information technologist |
| un lion | une lionne | a lion/a lioness |
| un artisan | une artisane | a craftsman/craftswoman |
| un gitan | une gitane | a gypsy (pejorative) |
| un paysan | une paysanne | a farmer |
| un voisin | une voisine | a neighbour |
| un Africain | une Africaine | an African |
| un ecrivain | une ecrivaine | a writer |
NB: Although une médecine ‘a (female) doctor’ is allowed under the recommendations for the feminization of names of professions, the normal usage is une femme médecin. In colloquial French, many people use une doctoresse as the feminine equivalent for un docteur.
Some nouns add -esse:
| un âne | une ânesse | a donkey |
| un chanoine | une chanoinesse | a canon/canoness |
| un comte | une comtesse | a count/countess |
| un diable | une diablesse | a devil/she-devil |
| un drôle | une drôlesse | a rascal |
| un hôte | une hôtesse | a host/hostess |
| un ivrogne | une ivrognesse | a drunkard |
| un maître | une maîtresse | a master/mistress |
| un ogre | une ogresse | an ogre |
| un pauvre | une pauvresse | a poor person |
| un prêtre | une prêtresse | a priest/priestess |
| un prince | une princesse | a prince/princess |
| un Suisse | une Suissesse | a Swiss person |
| un tigre | une tigresse | a tiger/tigress |
Although the nouns listed above are in common use, the -esse ending is no longer used productively to create feminine forms, and is felt as somewhat pejorative.
With nouns that end in -eur, some simply add -e, others change to -rice, and yet others change to -euse:
| un auteur | une auteure | an author |
| un docteur | une docteure | a doctor |
| un ingénieur | une ingénieure | an engineer |
| un pasteur | une pasteure | a (religious) minister |
| un professeur | une professeure | a teacher |
| un proviseur | une proviseure | a headteacher |
| un sculpteur | une sculpteure (also une sculptrice) | a sculptor |
| un compositeur | une compositeure (also une compositrice) | a composer |
| un agriculteur | une agricultrice | a farmer |
| un animateur | une animatrice | a youth leader, a (radio/TV) presenter |
| un auditeur | une auditrice | a listener |
| un éditeur | une éditrice | a publisher |
| un instituteur | une institutrice | a (primary school) teacher |
| un rédacteur | une rédactrice | an editor |
| un camionneur | une camionneuse | a truck driver |
| un chanteur | une chanteuse | a singer |
| un chercheur | une chercheuse | a researcher |
| un entraîneur | une entraîneuse | a coach |
| un footballeur | une footballeuse | a footballer |
| un menteur | une menteuse | a liar |
| un voleur | une voleuse | a thief |
In addition to these regular patterns there are a number of masculine/feminine forms where the words are quite different:
| un confrère | une consoeur | a colleague |
| un époux | une épouse | a husband/wife |
| un fils | une fille | a son/daughter |
| un garçon | une fille | a boy/girl |
| un héros | une héroïne | a hero/heroine |
| un homme | une femme | a man/woman |
| un homme- | une femme- | a frogman/ |
| grenouille | grenouille | frogwoman |
| un neveu | une nièce | a nephew/niece |
Some nouns have different meanings when they are masculine and when they are feminine:
| un aide | a helper |
| un chévre | a goat's cheese |
| un créme | a white coffee |
| le crêpe | crêpe (cloth) |
| un critique | a critic |
| un espace | a space |
| un laque | artwork |
| un livre | a book |
| un manche | a handle |
| un manmuvre | an unskilled worker |
| un mémoire | a dissertation |
| un merci | a thank you |
| un mode | a way of. . . |
| (un mode de vie) | (a way of life) |
| un moule | a mould |
| un pendule | a pendulum |
| le physique | appearance |
| un poêle | a stove |
| un poste | a job, TV or radio set |
| le solde | balance (in an account) |
| un somme | a nap |
| un tour | a turn, trick |
| le Tour de France | the Tour de France |
| un vase | a vase |
| un voile | a veil |
| l'aide (f) | help |
| une chévre | a goat |
| la créme | cream |
| une crêpe | a pancake |
| une critique | a criticism |
| une espace | a space (in printing) |
| une laque | a hair lacquer or gloss paint |
| une livre | a pound (money or weight) |
| une manche | a sleeve |
| La Manche | the English Channel |
| une manmuvre | a manoeuvre |
| la mémoire | memory (faculty of) |
| la merci | mercy |
| une mode | a fashion |
| une moule | a mussel |
| une pendule | a clock |
| la physique | physics |
| une poêle | a frying pan |
| la poste | the Post Office |
| la solde | pay (usually with reference to soldier's pay) |
| une somme | a sum (of money) |
| une tour | a tower |
| la Tour Eiffel | the Eiffel Tower |
| la vase | mud |
| une voile | a sail |
Chose is normally feminine when it means ‘thing’: la/une chose. But the expressions quelque chose ‘something’, autre chose ‘something else’, peu de chose ‘nothing much’, pas grand-chose ‘not a great deal’ are masculine:
| Quelque chose est arrivé | versus | Cette chose est arrivée |
| Something happened | This thing happened |
Gens ‘people’ or ‘folk’ requires immediately preceding adjectives or quantifiers to be feminine, but following adjectives/participles to be masculine. Where a preceding quantifier, adjective or participle is separated from gens, it is also masculine:
| certaines gens | some people |
| tous les gens | everyone |
This can produce sentences with contradictory indications of gender as in:
NB: jeunes gens (mpl) can refer either to ‘young men’, or ‘young people’ if the group is composed of both boys and girls; jeunes filles (fpl) is used where the group consists solely of ‘young women’.
Amour ‘love’ is normally masculine singular. It is sometimes, however, feminine plural: les amours. When feminine plural it can mean ‘amorous adventures’ or it can be a more poetic way of referring to love.
Œuvre meaning ‘a single artistic or literary work’ or ‘a collection of individual works’ is feminine:
But when it refers to the totality of work envisaged as a single unit, it is masculine:
And when it is used to refer to building work it is also masculine, usually in the set phrase le gros œuvre:
Pâques ‘Easter’, when conceived of as an event, is masculine:
But in Easter greetings Pâques is feminine:
| Joyeuses Pâques | Happy Easter |
| Bonnes Pâques | Happy Easter |
Noël ‘Christmas’ is normally preceded by a feminine article, but agreeing participles are masculine:
There are some words which, in spoken French, are pronounced in the same way but which have different meanings and different genders:
| un cal | a callus | une cale | a wedge | ||
| un faîte | a summit | une fête | a party | ||
| le foie | the liver | la foi | the faith | ||
| le maire | the mayor | la mer | the sea | une mére | a mother |
| un pet | a fart | la paie | the pay | la paix | peace |
| le poids | weight | la poix | pitch | un pois | a pea |
| un rai | a ray of light | une raie | a parting (in hair) or a skate (fish) | ||
| le sel | salt | une selle | a saddle | ||
| le sol | earth | une sole | a sole (fish) | ||
| un tic | a tic (nervous) | une tique | a tick (insect) | ||
| le vice | vice (crime) | une vis | a screw |
Some countries are masculine, some are feminine. The best generalization is that they are masculine unless they end in - e, in which case they are feminine:
| le Canada | Canada | la Chine | China |
| le Danemark | Denmark | la Finlande | Finland |
| le Japon | Japan | la Libye | Libya |
| le Koweït | Kuwait | la Norvège | Norway |
| le Liban | Lebanon | la Mauritanie | Mauritania |
| le Maroc | Morocco | la Roumanie | Romania |
| le Nigéria | Nigeria | la Suisse | Switzerland |
| le Portugal | Portugal | la Syrie | Syria |
NB: Les Etats-Unis (m pl).
Exceptions: le Cambodge ‘Cambodia’, le Mexique ‘Mexico’, le Mozambique ‘Mozambique’, le Zimbabwe ‘Zimbabwe’.
‘To’ or ‘in’ a country is either en or au(x). en is used with countries of feminine gender, and countries of masculine gender beginning with a vowel. au is used with countries of masculine gender beginning with a consonant, and aux with those countries whose names are plural, whether masculine or feminine (see Chapter 13.2.3 and 13.26.1):
| en Chine | au Canada |
| en Norvège | au Japon |
| en Suisse | aux Etats-Unis |
| en Iran (m) | |
| en Israël |
Towns, in normal usage, are masculine. In formal written French they are some times feminine, particularly those which end in -e:
Where the name of a town includes a definite article, adjectives and participles must agree with the gender of the article:
Islands are usually feminine:
| la Sardaigne | Sardinia |
| la Crète | Crete |
| la Nouvelle-Zélande | New Zealand |
But le Groënland ‘Greenland’ is an exception.
For rivers, French départements, French regions, for states and regions in other countries, the best generalization is that if they end in -e they are feminine:
| le Rhin | the Rhine | la Sâone | the Sâone |
| le Tarn | the Tarn | la Seine | the Seine |
| le Cher | the Cher | la Tamise | the Thames |
Exception: le Rhône ‘the Rhône’.
| le Calvados | la Haute-Garonne |
| le Gers | la Marne |
| le Jura | la Vendée |
Exception: le Finistère.
| le Berry | la Normandie |
| le Limousin | la Bretagne |
| le Périgord | la Champagne |
For example, American states:
| le Massachusetts | la Louisiane |
| le Nevada | la Californie |
| le Texas | la Floride |
Exception: British counties appear mostly to be treated as masculine, even those ending in ‘-shire’:
Usually, the gender of makes of vehicle or makes of machines, such as cars, lorries, planes, lawnmowers, dishwashers, and so on, is the same as the gender of the general name for the vehicle or machine.
voiture ‘car’ is feminine, so makes of car are feminine:
camion ‘lorry, truck’ is masculine, so makes of truck are masculine:
avion ‘plane’ is masculine, so types of plane are masculine:
cuisinière ‘cooker’ is feminine, so makes of cooker are feminine:
and so on.
The names of ships are usually masculine because navire is masculine e.g. Le Normandie. However, smaller vessels may be feminine e.g. La Marie-Joseph because la corvette and la frégate are feminine. The names of restaurants also tend to be masculine, because restaurant itself is masculine. A restaurant named after a region famed for its excellent produce, such as la Normandie, will be called Le Normandie.
There are a small number of nouns which are only feminine in gender, but which may refer both to men and women:
| personne | person |
| recrue | recruit |
| sentinelle | sentry |
| star/vedette | star (in the entertainment business) |
| victime | victim |
personne meaning ‘person’ is feminine: la/une personne. personne in ne . . . personne meaning ‘nobody’ (see Chapter 16.13) is masculine:
| Personne n'est venu | versus | Cette personne est venue |
| Nobody came | That person came |
The following nouns are masculine:
| le caractère | character/temperament | un légume | a vegetable |
| un choix | a choice | le manque | lack, lacuna |
| le crime | crime | le mérite | merit |
NB: espace is feminine when it means ‘a space in printing’ (see 1.2.4).
The following nouns are feminine:
| une croix | a cross | une forêt | a forest |
| une espèce | a type, kind | une noix | a nut |
| la fin | the end | une vis | a screw |
Compound nouns fall into six main types in French, and it is possible to determine broadly the gender of a compound on the basis of the type it belongs to (although with some exceptions).
NB: In the majority of cases compound nouns are written with a hyphen: basse-cour ‘farm-yard’, auto-école ‘driving school’. However, compound nouns formed with de or à are not typically hyphenated: chef d’œuvre ‘masterpiece’, brosse à dents ‘toothbrush’.
Adjective + noun compounds normally take their gender from the noun. The noun part of the compound is highlighted in the following examples:
| un arc-boutant | a buttress |
| un bas-côté | a verge (e.g. of a motorway) |
| une basse-cour | a farmyard |
| une belle-fille | a daughter-in- law or a step-daughter |
| un cerf-volant | a kite |
| un coffre-fort | a safe |
| un grand-parent | a grandparent |
| un rond-point | a roundabout |
Exception: un rouge-gor ge ‘a robin’.
In noun + noun compounds the gender is determined by the more important noun. un camion-citerne ‘a tanker (lorry)’ is a type of camion ‘lorry’, so camion is the more important noun, and the compound is masculine. un homme-grenouille ‘a frogman’ is a type of homme ‘man’ (not a type of frog!), so homme is the more important noun, and the compound is masculine. The important nouns are highlighted in the following examples:
| une auto-école | a driving school |
| un bateau-mouche | a Parisian tourist boat |
| un bateau-citerne | a tanker (ship) |
| un camion-citerne | a tanker (lorry) |
| un chou-fleur | a cauliflower |
| un homme-grenouille | a frogman |
| un hôtel-Dieu | a hospital |
| une idée-force | a central idea |
| un mot-clé | a keyword |
| un oiseau-mouche | a humming-bird |
| du papier-toilette | toilet paper |
| une pause-café | a coffee break |
| une porte-fenêtre | a french window |
| un timbre-poste | a stamp |
| une voiture-restaurant | a restaurant car |
| un wagon-lit | a sleeping car |
In adverb + noun compounds, the compound is usually the same gender as the noun, but there are exceptions:
| une arrière-pensée | a second thought |
| l'arrière-plan (m) | the background |
| une contre-offensive | a counter-offensive |
| un demi-tarif | a half-price ticket |
| une demi-bouteille | a half bottle |
| un hors-bord | a speedboat |
| une mini-jupe | a miniskirt |
| un haut-parleur | a loudspeaker |
| un sans-travail | an unemployed person |
Exceptions: l’après-guerre (m) ‘the post- war period’, un en-tête ‘a letterhead’, le sans-gêne ‘the lack of embarrassment’.
The gender of noun + prepositional phrase compounds is usually that of the first noun:
| un aide-de-camp | an aide-de-camp |
| un arc-en-ciel | a rainbow |
| un chef d'oeuvre | a masterpiece |
| un coup d'oeil | a glance |
| un coup de pied | a kick |
| un croc-en-jambe | a trip |
| une langue-de-chat | a langue-de-chat (a long, flat, finger biscuit) |
| la main d'oeuvre | the workforce |
| un mont-de-piété | a pawnshop |
| une pomme de terre | a potato |
| un pot-de-vin | a bribe |
Exceptions to this generalization are: un tête-à-queue ‘a spin’ (head to tail in a car), un tête-à-tête ‘a tête-à-tête conversation’.
Verb + noun compounds are usually masculine:
| un abat-jour | a lampshade |
| un accroche-coeur | a (kiss) curl |
| un appui-tête | a headrest |
| des casse-noisettes | nutcrackers |
| un cache-nez | a scarf |
| un coupe-papier | a paper-knife |
| un couvre-lit | a bedspread |
| un cure-dents | a toothpick |
| un essuie-mains | a hand towel |
| un gratte-ciel | a skyscraper |
| un ouvre-boîtes | a tin-opener |
| un pare-brise | a windscreen |
| un pare-chocs | a bumper |
| un porte-avions | an aircraft carrier |
| un porte-bagages | a luggage rack |
| un porte-monnaie | a wallet |
| un soutien-gorge | a bra |
| un taille-crayons | a pencil sharpener |
| un tire-bouchon | a corkscrew |
| un trompe-l'œil | a 'trompe l'œil' (art) |
Compounds constructed from verbal phrases are masculine:
| le manque-à-gagner | lost revenue |
| le on-dit | rumour, gossip |
| le ouï-dire | hearsay |
| un m'as-tu-vu | a show-off |
| le qu'en dira-t-on | the 'what might people say' |
| un faire-part | an announcement card (weddings, births, funerals) |
| un laisser-passer | a pass (document) |
| le savoir-faire | know-how |
All nouns must be either singular or plural. Although many nouns are marked for plural in written French, few differ in singular and plural form in spoken French. Usually, number is marked in the determiner in spoken French (le/la versus les, ce/cette versus ces, mon/ma versus mes, and so on).
Regular plurals add - s, which is not pronounced, to the singular noun in written French:
| une loi | des lois | law(s) |
| un drap | des draps | sheet(s) |
| une voiture | des voitures | car(s) |
| une remarque | des remarques | remark(s) |
| un chat | des chats | cat(s) |
| un enfant | des enfants | child(ren) |
| une maison | des maisons | house(s) |
| un chandail | des chandails | cardigan(s) |
| un éventail | des éventails | fan(s) |
(For words ending in - ail which have an irregular plural see 1.3.6.)
With these words there is no change between singular and plural:
| un pois | des pois | spot(s) |
| une croix | des croix | cross(es) |
| un nez | des nez | nose(s) |
| un as | des as | ace(s) |
| un prix | des prix | price(s) |
| un corps | des corps | body(ies) |
| un bras | des bras | arm(s) |
These nouns form their plural by adding -x:
| un cheveu | des cheveux | hair(s) |
| un tuyau | des tuyaux | pipe(s) |
| un manteau | des manteaux | coat(s) |
| l'eau | des eaux | water(s) |
Exceptions:
| un bleu | des bleus | bruise(s) |
| un pneu | des pneus | tyre(s) |
| un landau | des landaus | pram(s) |
Nouns ending in -ou form their plural with -s:
| un fou | des fous | madman/men or jester(s) |
| un trou | des trous | hole(s) |
But there are seven words which form their plural with -x:
| un bijou | des bijoux | jewel(s) |
| un caillou | des cailloux | stone(s) |
| un chou | des choux | cabbage(s) |
| un genou | des genoux | knee(s) |
| un hibou | des hiboux | owl(s) |
| un joujou | des joujoux | toy(s) |
| un pou | des poux | louse (lice) |
Most nouns ending in - al form their plural as - aux:
| un bocal | des bocaux | jam jar(s) |
| un cheval | des chevaux | horse(s) |
| un idéal | des idéaux | ideal(s) |
| un journal | des journaux | newspaper(s) |
| un mal | des maux | evil(s) |
| un terminal | des terminaux | terminal(s) |
| un val | des vaux (limited to poetic language) | valley(s) |
There are, however, a number of exceptions which form their plural with -s:
| un bal | des bals | dance(s) |
| un cal | des cals | callus(es) |
| un carnaval | des carnavals | carnival(s) |
| un cérémonial | des cérémonials | ceremony(ies) |
| un chacal | des chacals | jackal(s) |
| un festival | des festivals | festival(s) |
| un récital | des récitals | recital(s) |
| un régal | des régals | feast(s) |
Many nouns ending in –ail have a regular plural, e.g. des details, des chandails, des éventails, as indicated in 1.3.1, but a number of - ail nouns also make their plural with - aux:
| un bail | des baux | lease(s) |
| un corail | des coraux | coral(s) |
| un émail | des émaux | enamel(s) |
| un soupirail | des soupiraux | window(s) |
| le travail | les travaux | work(s) |
| un vitrail | des vitraux | stained glass window(s) |
| des affres (f) | agonies |
| aux alentours (m) | around |
| des annales (f) | annals |
| des archives (f) | archives |
| des armoiries (f) | (coat of) arms |
| des arrérages (m) | arrears |
| des arrhes (f) | a deposit |
| des bestiaux (m) | animals |
| des condoléances (f) | condolences |
| des ébats (m) | frolicking |
| des entrailles (f) | entrails |
| des environs (m) | surroundings |
| des fiançailles (f) | engagement |
| des fringues (f) | (colloquial) clothes |
| des frusques (f) | (colloquial) clothes |
| des funérailles (f) | funeral |
| des gens people | (for gender see 1.2.4) |
| des honoraires (m) | fees |
| des intempéries (f) | bad weather |
| des moeurs (f) | customs |
| des obsèques (f) | funeral |
| des vêpres (f) | vespers |
| des victuailles (f) | victuals |
These are most notably:
| un os | des os (pronounced as 'eau') | bone(s) |
| un œil | des yeux | eye(s) |
| un ciel | des cieux | sky(ies) |
| un œuf | des œufs (pronounced as 'œu') | egg(s) |
| un bœuf | des bœufs (pronounced as 'bœu') | bullock(s) |
| Monsieur | Messieurs | Mr; sir(s); gentleman/gentlemen |
| Madame | Mesdames | Mrs; madam; lady/ladies |
| Mademoiselle | Mesdemoiselles | Miss; (young) lady/(young) ladies |
| Monseigneur | Messeigneurs | Your Highness(es); Your Lordship(s); |
| Your Grace(s); Your Eminence(s) |
In adjective + noun compounds (see 1.2.11 for the meanings of these compounds), both elements become plural:
| un arc-boutant | des arcs-boutants | |||
| un bas-côté | des bas-côtés | |||
| une basse-cour | des basses-cours | |||
| une belle-fille | des belles-filles | |||
| un cerf-volant | des cerfs-volants | |||
| un coffre-fort | des coffres-forts | |||
| un grand-parent | des grands-parents | |||
| un rond-point | des ronds-points | |||
| NB: | un grand-père | des grands-pères | ||
| un grand-oncle | des grands-oncles | |||
| une grand-mère | des grands-mères | or | des grand-mères | |
| une grand-tante | des grands-tantes | or | des grand-tantes | |
| un bonhomme | des bonshommes | |||
| BUT | un bonjour | des bonjours | ||
In noun + noun compounds (see 1.2.11) the norm is for both nouns to become plural:
| un bateau-citerne | des bateaux-citernes |
| un bateau-mouche | des bateaux-mouches |
| un camion-citerne | des camions-citernes |
| un chou-fleur | des choux-fleurs |
| un homme-grenouille | des hommes-grenouilles |
| une idée-force | des idées-forces |
| un mot-clé | des mots-clés |
| un oiseau-mouche | des oiseaux-mouches |
| une pause-café | des pauses-cafés |
| une porte-fenêtre | des portes-fenêtres |
| une voiture-restaurant | des voitures-restaurants |
| un wagon-lit | des wagons-lits |
| une auto-école | des auto-écoles |
| un bain-marie | des bains-marie |
| un hôtel-Dieu | des hôtels-Dieu |
| un timbre-poste | des timbres-poste |
In adverb + noun compounds (see 1.2.11), the noun alone becomes plural (although some remain invariable):
| une arrière-boutique | des arrière-boutiques |
| une arrière-pensée | des arrière-pensées |
| un arrière-plan | des arrière-plans |
| une contre-offensive | des contre-offensives |
| une contre-offre | des contre-offres |
| une demi-bouteille | des demi-bouteilles |
| un demi-tarif | des demi-tarifs |
| un haut-parleur | des haut-parleurs |
| un hors-bord | des hors-bords |
| une mini-jupe | des mini-jupes |
| un non-lieu | des non-lieux |
| un non-paiement | des non-paiements |
Exception: un sans- travail, des sans- travail
In noun + prepositional phrase compounds (see 1.2.11) only the first noun becomes plural:
| un aide-de-camp | des aides-de-camp |
| un arc-en-ciel | des arcs-en-ciel |
| un chef d'oeuvre | des chefs d'oeuvre |
| un coup d'oeil | des coups d'oeil |
| un coup de pied | des coups de pied |
| un croc-en-jambe | des crocs-en-jambe |
| une langue-de-chat | des langues-de-chat |
| la main d'oeuvre | des mains d'oeuvre |
| un mont-de-piété | des monts-de-piété |
| une pomme de terre | des pommes de terre |
| un pot-de-vin | des pots-de-vin |
But not all change:
| un pot-au-feu | des pot-au-feu |
| un tête-à-queue | des tête-à-queue |
| un tête-à-tête | des tête-à-tête |
In verb + noun compounds (see 1.2.11), there are three possibilities:
These would appear to have been assimilated to the one- word versions, such as:
| le(s) portemanteau(x) | coat peg(s) |
| le(s) portefeuille(s) | wallet(s) |
It has to be said that in the area of compound nouns not all ‘authorities’ agree on the rules and attempts to introduce ‘logical’ rules appear to have added further confusion to an already confused situation!
These do not generally have a different plural form:
Some nouns which are singular in English are plural in French, and others are plural in English and singular in French. The following are examples which sometimes cause difficulty for English speakers:
| English singular | French plural |
| applause | les applaudissements |
| darkness | les ténèbres |
| sb's funeral | les funérailles de qn |
| hair | les cheveux |
| information | des informations, des renseignements |
| knowledge | les connaissances |
| to make progress | faire des progrès |
| to do research/my research | faire des recherches/mes recherches |
| English plural | French singular |
| economics | l'économie |
| grapes (grape = un grain de raisin) | du raisin |
| linguistics | la linguistique |
| physics | la physique |
| pyjamas | un pyjama |
| shorts | un short |
| stairs | l'escalier |
| tights | un collant |
| trousers | un pantalon |
| underpants | un slip |
Although family names are not pluralized in French (see 1.1.4), plurals are normal with dynasties:
But:
NB: Some mass nouns in French can also be used as count nouns more freely than their English equivalents:
| un fruit | a piece of fruit |
| un pain | a loaf of bread (NOT *a bread) |
| un raisin | a type of grape |