French Nouns

Nouns

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas. In French, all nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. Unfortunately, there aren't any simple rules to determine a noun's gender. The best way to learn is to memorize the gender along with the noun itself.

To form the plural of most nouns, add an s to the end of the word. Most words that end in al, form the plural by changing the al to aux. Words that end in eu or au form the plural by adding x to the end of the word. Singular nouns that end in s, x, or z do not change for the plural form.

The s or x in the plural form of French nouns is usually silent, but they can be pronounced as a /z/ sound when the following word is an adjective that starts with a vowel.

Articles

Articles are words that come before nouns to indicate their gender, number, and specificity. There are three types of articles in French: definite, indefinite, and partitive. French nouns will almost always be preceded by one of the three types of articles.

Definite Article

Definite articles are used to refer to specific or known nouns. They are equivalent to the English word "the". The definite articles in French are: le for singular masculine nouns, la for singular feminine nouns, and les for masculine and feminine nouns. Le and la are shortened to l' before nouns that start with a vowel. Definite articles are used more often in French than in English.

Example

Le chat est noir.	The cat is black.
La voiture est rouge.	The car is red.
L'oiseau chante.	The bird sings.
Les enfants jouent.	The children play.

Indefinite Article

Indefinite articles are used to refer to nonspecific or unknown nouns. They are equivalent to the English words "a" and "an". The indefinite articles in French are:

• un for masculine singular nouns
• une for feminine singular nouns

Examples

Un chien court.	A dog runs.
Une pomme est verte.	An apple is green.

Partitive articles

Partitive articles are used to refer to a portion or quantity of a noun. They are equivalent to the English words "some" or "any". The partitive articles in French are:

• du for singular masculine nouns
• de la for feminine sigular feminine nouns, which is shortened to de l' when the following noun starts with a vowel
• des for masculine and feminine nouns

Examples

Je mange du pain.	I eat some bread.
Elle boit de la limonade.	She drinks some lemonade.
Il achète de l'eau.	He buys some water.
Nous avons des amis.	We have some friends.
Des livres sont sur la table.	Some books are on the table.