Notes
Gender and number of nouns
- Every noun is masculine or feminine: learn it with its article (un livre, une table). Endings help: -tion, -té, -ure are feminine; -age, -ment, -eau are usually masculine.
- Plural: add -s; nouns in -s/-x/-z stay the same; -eau/-eu add -x; -al becomes -aux (des journaux).
Articles
| Masculin | Féminin | Pluriel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| definite (the) | le | la | les |
| before a vowel | l' | l' | les |
| indefinite (a, some) | un | une | des |
- Use the definite article to talk about likes in general: J'aime la musique.
Adjectives
- Adjectives agree in gender and number: un grand garçon, une grande fille, des grands garçons.
- Spelling changes: blanc/blanche, heureux/heureuse, vert/verte. orange and marron never change.
- Most adjectives follow the noun (colors, nationalities); BAGS adjectives (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) come before: une petite maison, un chat noir.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Amie begins with a vowel, so la becomes l'.
Nouns ending in -al form the plural in -aux.
Voiture is feminine singular; rouge already ends in -e, and colors follow the noun.
Nouveau (BAGS) goes before, vert (color) goes after, and both agree with livres (m. pl.).
Bureau blanc: the desk is white. The chairs are blue.
Nouns in -ure are feminine; -eau, -age and -ment are masculine.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Camille describes her bedroom to a pen pal. It has a red chair (chaise, f.), a big white desk (bureau, m.) and two new black books (livres, m.).
(a) Write a French phrase for "a red chair" and for "the big white desk".
Show the answer and scoring guide
une chaise rouge ; le grand bureau blanc
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Write "two new black books" in French.
Show the answer and scoring guide
deux nouveaux livres noirs
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Explain why « blanche » is used for « une porte » but « blanc » for « un bureau ».
Show the answer and scoring guide
Porte is feminine and bureau is masculine. An adjective agrees in gender with its noun, so the feminine form adds -e (blanc becomes blanche).
Check off the points you earned: