Plural and Feminine Nouns Cours de français 3

Plural Nouns: We will classify French nouns in the following groups in order to help us remember their plural forms: the majority of nouns -s, -x, and –z -eau and –eu -al -ou -irregular nouns

The Majority of Nouns The plural of most French nouns is formed by adding s to the singular. le musée → les musées l’assiette → les assiettes la pomme → les pommes le mois → les mois le prix → les prix le nez → les nez -s, -x, and -z Nouns ending in –s, – x, or –z remain unchanged.

-eau and -eu Nouns ending in –eau and –eu add –x to form the plural. le drapeau → les drapeaux le neveu → les neveux -al Nouns ending in –al change to –aux in the plural. le métal → les métaux le cheval → les chevaux

-ou Some, but not all, nouns ending in –ou add –x to form the plural. le bijou → les bijoux le caillou → les cailloux

Irregular Nouns Some nouns have irregular plural forms. le ciel → les cieux l’oeil → les yeux le travail → les travaux madame → mesdames mademoiselle → mesdemoiselles monsieur → messieurs

Some common compound nouns have the following plurals: *see F3Y, pg. 120 l’après-midi →les après-midi le chef-d’œuvre →les chefs-d'œuvre la grand-mère →les grand-mères le grand-père →les grands-pères le gratte-ciel →les gratte-ciel la pomme de terre →les pommes de terre le rendez-vous →les rendez-vous le réveille-matin →les réveille-matin A few nouns almost always appear in the plural: les ciseauxles mathématiques les lunettesles vacances les cheveux

Feminine Nouns: Some nouns have the same form in the masculine and the feminine. un (une) artisteun (une) enfant un (une) élèveun (une) malade un (une) touriste

Feminine Nouns: Some feminine nouns are formed by adding –e to the masculine. l’ami → l’amie le client →la cliente le cousin →la cousine l’Espagnol →l’Espagnole l’étudiant →l’étudiante le voisin →la voisine

Feminine Nouns: Other feminine nouns have unique endings. Some of these follow patterns. Masculine EndingFeminine Ending -eur-ice -en-enne -ier-ière -eur-euse See F3Y, pg. 121 for a comprehensive list.

Other Notes: A few nouns are always feminine, whether applied to a male or female. la connaissance = acquaintance la personne = person Some nouns have two genders, each with a different meaning: le livre = bookla livre = pound le tour = a trip/tourla tour = tower A noun of nationality is written with a capital letter but an adjective of nationality is written with a small letter: Les Français aiment la cuisine française.