1. Point de départ
A noun designates a person, place, or thing. As in English, nouns in French have number (singular or plural). However, French nouns also have gender (masculine or feminine).
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

2. Nouns that designate a male are usually masculine.
Les noms qui nomment un mâle sont typiquement masculins.
Nouns that designate a female are usually feminine.
Les noms qui nomment une femelle sont typiquement féminins.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

3. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. M. Urban est le prof de maths. Mme. Fernie est la prof de français.
Some nouns can designate either a male or a female regardless of their grammatical gender.
Notice that PROFESSEUR is masculine or feminine. HOWEVER, the shortened versions are gender specific.
M. Urban est le prof de maths.
Mme. Fernie est la prof de français.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

6. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Nouns for objects that have no natural gender can be either masculine or feminine.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

9. You can usually form the plural of a noun by adding -s, regardless of gender. However, in the case of words that end in -eau in the singular, add -x to the end to form the plural. For most nouns ending in -al, drop the -al and add -aux.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

10. Refer to a group composed of males and females with a masculine plural noun.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

11. The English definite article the never varies for number or gender
The English definite article the never varies for number or gender. However, the French definite article takes different forms according to the gender and number of the noun that it accompanies.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 11

12. In English, the singular indefinite article is a/an, and the plural indefinite article is some. Although some is often omitted in English, the plural indefinite article cannot be omitted in French.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

13. Use c’est followed by a singular article and noun or ce sont followed by a plural article and noun to identify people and objects.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

14. Essayez! Select the correct article for each noun.
le, la, l’ ou les?
un, une ou des?
1. _____ café
1. _____ bureau
2. _____ bibliothèque
2. _____ différence
3. _____ acteur
3. _____ objet
4. _____ amie
4. _____ amis
5. _____ problèmes
5. _____ amies
6. _____ lycée
6. _____ université
7. _____ examens
7. _____ ordinateur
8. _____ littérature
8. _____ tableaux le un
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 14