2.2 Nouns and Articles
What is a Noun?
A noun is a person, place, or thing. Like English, nouns in French may be singular or plural. However, unlike English, French nouns can be either masculine or feminine . The easiest way of determining the gender of the noun is to learn the noun along with its corresponding definite article.
Definite Articles
A definite article is specific, it defines the number and gender of the noun it corresponds to. In English, the only definite article is the, whereas in French there are four of them: la, le, l’ and les.
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | le, l’ | les |
| Feminine | la, l’ | les |
Please note, le or la change to l’ before a noun beginning in a vowel or an h (the h is silent in French).
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | le livre
l’homme |
les livres
les hommes |
| Feminine | la chaise
l’amie |
les chaises
les amies |
Important Note
In the examples above, note that le and la both become l’ when they come before a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h: l’homme, l’université. This is called élision.
When les is followed by a word starting with a vowel, the normally silent final s of les is pronounced, making a /z/ sound. This additional sound linking two words is called liaison.
Exercice 1 : Definite Articles
Based on the definite article that appears in front of each noun below, indicate whether the noun is masculine or feminine, or whether you don’t know.
- la chaise
- le professeur
- l’étudiant
- le sac à dos
- les bureaux
- les amies
- les devoirs
- l’affiche
- la craie
- le stylo
Plural Formation
As in English, the plural is generally formed by adding an s to the end of the singular form of the noun. Note, however, that the s is not pronounced. In spoken language, the article is often the only indication that a noun is singular or plural.
Important Notes
Generally, to form plurals, you can follow these rules:
- Add an s to the end of the word. Example: la chaise/les chaises (the chair/the chairs)
- Nouns ending in s, x, or z do not change in the plural. Example: la souris/les souris (the mouse/the mice)
- Nouns ending in al, ail, or au in the singular end in aux in the plural. Example: l’animal/les animaux (the animal/the animals)
- Nouns ending in eu, eau or ou in the singular add x in the plural. Example: le bijou/les bijoux (the jewel/the jewels)
Keep in mind that there are exceptions and that not all nouns follow the rules above.
Exercice 2 : Nouns and Definite Articles
Rewrite the following nouns using its proper definite article based on the noun’s gender and number. Note that the gender is specified in the brackets with an (m) for masculine and an (f) for feminine. An asterisk (*) indicates the plural form of the noun.
Modèle: stylo (m) / le stylo.
- affiche (f)
- bureau (m)
- étudiante (f)
- stylo (m)
- professeurs* (m)
- devoirs* (m)
- craie (f)
- chaise (f)
- sacs à dos* (m)
- étudiants* (m)
Indefinite Articles
The second type of articles in French are indefinite articles. These correspond to the English a (an) (singular) and some (plural). Just like the definite article, the indefinite article has different forms for masculine, feminine, and plural.
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un | des |
| Feminine | une | des |
Don’t forget that to write the plural form of most singular nouns, you add an s to the end of the word.
| Gender | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | un livre | des livres |
| Feminine | une craie | des craies |
Exercice 3 : Indefinite Articles
Rewrite each definite article-noun pairing below using the correct indefinite article.
Modèle: la table / une table
- livre (m)
- fenêtre (f)
- affiche (f)
- devoirs (m)
- stylo (m)
- cahier (m)
- étudiante (f)
- étudiant (m)
- crayon (m)
This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA, and Tex’s French Grammar, originally released under CC BY 3.0.
