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French 1 Unit 2: Articles, gender and adjectives
French nouns are masculine or feminine. Articles and adjectives change to match.
Covers: Masculine and feminine nouns, le, la, l', les, un, une, des, plurals, adjective agreement
Study guide
Every French noun is masculine or feminine, and the gender must be learned with each word. Some endings help: -tion, -sion, -té and -ette are usually feminine, while -age, -ment and -eau are usually masculine.
The definite articles ("the") are le (masculine), la (feminine), l' (before a vowel or silent h, either gender) and les (plural): le livre, la maison, l'école, les amis. The indefinite articles ("a/an," "some") are un (masculine), une (feminine) and des (plural): un livre, une maison, des livres. After a negative, un, une and des usually become de: Je n'ai pas de livre.
Most nouns form their plural by adding a silent -s: le livre → les livres. Nouns ending in -s, -x or -z don't change; most nouns ending in -eau add -x (les gâteaux), and many ending in -al change to -aux (un animal → des animaux). Because the -s is usually silent, listen to the article to hear whether a noun is plural.
Adjectives agree in gender and number with their nouns. Add -e for feminine (grand → grande) unless the adjective already ends in -e, and add -s for plural (grands, grandes). Some have irregular feminines: beau → belle, bon → bonne, blanc → blanche, heureux → heureuse.
Most adjectives go after the noun: une voiture rouge, un livre intéressant. A group of common adjectives goes before, remembered as BAGS: Beauty (beau, joli), Age (jeune, vieux, nouveau), Goodness (bon, mauvais) and Size (grand, petit).
To say "this/that" or "these/those," use ce before a masculine noun (ce livre), cet before a masculine noun starting with a vowel or silent h (cet ami, cet hôtel), cette before a feminine noun (cette table), and ces for all plurals (ces livres). Quel ("which" or "what") agrees with its noun: quel, quelle, quels, quelles (Quel film ?, Quelle heure est-il ?, Quelles chaussures ?). In exclamations it means "what a…!": Quelle bonne idée !
Nationality adjectives are lowercase and agree like other adjectives: il est américain, elle est américaine. As nouns for people, they're capitalized: un Français, une Canadienne.
Key ideas
- Definite articles: le (m), la (f), l' (before a vowel), les (plural).
- Indefinite: un (m), une (f), des (plural).
- Most plurals add -s (silent).
- Adjectives agree: add -e for feminine, -s for plural (petit, petite, petits, petites).
- Most adjectives go after the noun; BAGS adjectives (beauty, age, goodness, size) go before.
Formulas and rules
Common mistakes
- Writing le ami instead of l'ami.
- Forgetting agreement: une voiture noir ✗ → noire ✓.
Words to know
- le
- the (m.)
- la
- the (f.)
- l'
- the (before a vowel)
- les
- the (plural)
- une
- a / an (f.)
- des
- some (plural)
- le livre
- the book
- le stylo
- the pen
- le crayon
- the pencil
- la gomme
- the eraser
- la calculatrice
- the calculator
- le dictionnaire
- the dictionary
- l'ordinateur
- the computer (m.)
- le tableau
- the board
- la feuille de papier
- the sheet of paper
- le bureau
- the desk
- la carte
- the map
- l'école
- the school (f.)
- la salle de classe
- the classroom
- le garçon
- the boy
- la fille
- the girl / the daughter
- l'homme
- the man (m.)
- la femme
- the woman / the wife
- l'élève
- the student (m./f.)
- le professeur
- the teacher
- l'ami / l'amie
- the friend (m./f.)
- le copain
- the pal (m.)
- la copine
- the pal (f.)
- la maison
- the house
- la voiture
- the car
- le gâteau
- the cake
- l'animal
- the animal (m.)
- grand / grande
- tall / big
- petit / petite
- short / small
- beau / belle
- beautiful / handsome
- joli / jolie
- pretty
- jeune
- young
- vieux / vieille
- old
- nouveau / nouvelle
- new
- bon / bonne
- good
Sample practice questions
5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.
Which article goes with "ami"?
- l'
- la
- un'
- le
Show the answer and steps
Answer: A) l'
- ami starts with a vowel.
- le and la become l'.
Plural of "le livre"?
- les livre
- le livres
- les livres
- des livre
Show the answer and steps
Answer: C) les livres
- le → les, add -s.
- les livres.
How do you say "a black car" (voiture is feminine)?
- un voiture noir
- une voiture noire
- une voiture noir
- une noire voiture
Show the answer and steps
Answer: B) une voiture noire
- Feminine: une, and the adjective adds -e: noire.
- Color adjectives go after the noun.