Gender
All French nouns are either masculine or feminine. There is no neutral gender.
Masculine nouns use the articles “le” and “un”, while feminine nouns use “la” and “une”.
Some general rules for masculine nouns:
Nouns ending in consonants like -l, -c, -d, -t, -n, -r, -s, -x are usually masculine Examples: le journal, le sac, le pied, le chat, le pain, le cœur, le bus, le choix
Nouns ending in -eau, -isme, -ment are usually masculine Examples: le bateau, le tourisme, le gouvernement
Some general rules for feminine nouns:
Nouns ending in -e, -ion, -té, -eur are often feminine Examples: la table, la nation, la liberté, la fleur
Abstract concepts often ending in -té, -tude, -ence, -esse are usually feminine Examples: la beauté, la gratitude, la patience, la sagesse
Exceptions exist for most rules. Some common exceptions:
- Masculine exceptions ending in -e: le livre, le monde, le musée
- Feminine exceptions not ending in -e: la nuit, la forêt, la main
Categories of nouns that tend to be feminine:
- Academic subjects: la biologie, la littérature, l’histoire
- Continents and planets: l’Asie, l’Amérique, la Terre
Nouns referring to people often have both masculine and feminine forms:
- le professeur / la professeure (teacher)
- l’écrivain / l’écrivaine (writer)
Some professions traditionally only had masculine forms, but many are now being feminized:
- le médecin → la médecin (doctor, in Canadian French)
Group 1 verbs
Certainly! Group 1 verbs in French, also known as -er verbs, are the largest and most regular group of verbs.
| Infinitive | Je | Tu | Il/Elle/On | Nous | Vous | Ils/Elles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parler (to speak) | parle | parles | parle | parlons | parlez | parlent |
| Aimer (to like/love) | aime | aimes | aime | aimons | aimez | aiment |
| Danser (to dance) | danse | danses | danse | dansons | dansez | dansent |
| Chanter (to sing) | chante | chantes | chante | chantons | chantez | chantent |
| Écouter (to listen) | écoute | écoutes | écoute | écoutons | écoutez | écoutent |
| Travailler (to work) | travaille | travailles | travaille | travaillons | travaillez | travaillent |
| Manger (to eat) | mange | manges | mange | mangeons | mangez | mangent |
| Regarder (to watch/look) | regarde | regardes | regarde | regardons | regardez | regardent |
| Jouer (to play) | joue | joues | joue | jouons | jouez | jouent |
| Étudier (to study) | étudie | étudies | étudie | étudions | étudiez | étudient |
Key points about Group 1 verbs:
- The endings for each person are: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.
- The verb stem (radical) remains the same for all persons, except for some spelling changes to maintain pronunciation.
- Some verbs like “manger” add an ’e’ before the -ons ending in the nous form to keep the soft ‘g’ sound.
- Verbs ending in -yer (like “envoyer”) change ‘y’ to ‘i’ before a silent ’e’.
Example in a sentence: “Je parle français, tu parles anglais, et nous parlons espagnol ensemble.” (I speak French, you speak English, and we speak Spanish together.)