French 1 Unit 1: Chapitre 1A Grammar: Nouns and Articles

French 1 Unit 1: Chapitre 1A - Grammar: Nouns and Articles

Nouns

• Definition of a noun: A noun designates a person, place, or thing.

• Characteristics of nouns in French:

  • Number: Nouns can be either singular or plural, similar to English.

  • Gender: Nouns also have gender, categorizing them as either masculine or feminine.

Examples of Nouns

Masculine Nouns

• un cahier (a notebook)

• un crayon (a pencil)

• un dictionnaire (a dictionary)

• un livre (a book)

• un homme (a man)

• un élève (a male student)

Feminine Nouns

• une calculatrice (a calculator)

• une corbeille (a trashcan)

• une chaise (a chair)

• une horloge (a clock)

• une femme (a woman)

• une élève (a female student)

Observations

• Masculine Nouns:

  • Preceded by the word "un"

• Feminine Nouns:

  • Preceded by the word "une"

Articles

• Definition of articles: Articles are words that indicate phrases such as "the," "a/an," or "some" in English when positioned before a noun.

• Agreement with gender and number: In French, the article must match the gender and number of the noun it precedes.

  • Example:

    • une fille = a feminine word

    • un cahier = a masculine word

Indefinite Articles

• Forms:

  • Singular: un (masculine), une (feminine)

  • Plural: des (meaning "some")

• Function: Indefinite articles (un, une, des) identify a noun's gender and number.

Singular vs. Plural Indefinite Articles

Pluralization Rules

• To convert singular nouns with indefinite articles to plural, follow these rules:

  • Change "un" and "une" to "des" and add an "s" to the noun following it.

    • Example:

      • un cahier → des cahiers

      • une porte → des portes

Special Pluralization Cases

• Words that end in “-eau” in singular require an "x" in plural form:

  • Example:

    • un tableau → des tableaux

    • un bureau → des bureaux

• Words that end in “-al” in singular require "ux" in plural form:

  • Example:

    • un animal → des animaux

    • un hôpital → des hôpitaux

Gender Characteristics of Nouns

• General Gender Rules:

  • Days of the week, languages, weights, and metrics are usually masculine nouns.

  • Gender cannot often be guessed from the word, unless it denotes a person:

    • un homme (a man): masculine

    • une femme (a woman): feminine

• Exceptions:

  • Some nouns like "un professeur" (a teacher; professor) and "une personne" (a person) can refer to either gender.

• Memorization:

  • The genders of nouns referring to objects and ideas must be memorized, as rules can be inconsistent.

Gender Hint Guidelines

• 90% of nouns that end in “e” are feminine, but caution is needed:

  • Masculine Nouns USUALLY END IN:

    • -age: un garage, un fromage

    • -ment: un monument, un gouvernement

    • -eau: un tableau, un bureau

    • -phone: un téléphone

    • -scope: un microscope

    • -isme: un réalisme

    • -aire: un dictionnaire, un vocabulaire

    • -acle: un spectacle

    • -oir: un reservoir

  • Feminine Nouns USUALLY END IN:

    • -tion: une station

    • -sion: une télévision

    • -té: une nationalité

    • -ette: une bicyclette

    • -ance: une performance

    • -ence: une audience

    • -ure: une lecture

    • -ode: une méthode

    • -ade: une salade

    • -ude: une étude

Exercise: Place Correct Articles

• Fill in the blanks with the correct articles (un, une, or des):

  1. un__ instrument

  2. _une_ différence

  3. une____ culture

  4. _un_ devoir

  5. des____ parents

  6. un__ oiseau

  7. _un_ morceau

  8. des____ chevaux