4. Nouns, Articles & Demonstratives / les noms, les articles & les demonstratifs
All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, and -ette are usually feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
|
Definite Articles (The) |
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|
Masculine |
|
Feminine |
|
Before Vowel |
|
Plural |
|
le lit /lə li/ the bed |
|
la pomme /la pɔm/ the apple |
|
l'oiseau /lwazo/ the bird |
|
les gants /le ɡɑ̃/ the gloves |
|
Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some) |
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|
Masculine |
|
Feminine |
|
Plural |
|
un lit /œ̃̃ li/ a bed |
|
une pomme / yn pɔm/ an apple |
|
des gants /de ɡɑ̃/ some gloves |
|
Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those) |
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|
Masc. |
|
Masc, Before Vowel |
|
Fem. |
|
Plural |
|
ce lit /sə li/ this/that bed |
|
cet oiseau /sɛ twazo/ this/that bird |
|
cette pomme /sɛt pɔm/ this/that apple |
|
ces gants /se ɡɑ̃/ these/those gloves |
If you need to distinguish between this or that and these or those, you can add -ci to the end of the noun for this and these, and -là to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce lit-ci is this bed, while ce lit-là is that bed.
5. Useful Words / les mots utiles
|
It's / That's |
c'est |
/sɛ/ |
There is/are |
il y a |
/il i a/ |
|
There is/are |
voilà |
/vwala/ |
Here is/are |
voici |
/vwasi/ |
|
and |
et |
/e/ |
always |
toujours |
/tuʒuʀ/ |
|
but |
mais |
/mɛ/ |
often |
souvent |
/suvɑ̃/ |
|
now |
maintenant |
/mɛ̃tnɑ̃/ |
sometimes |
quelquefois |
/kɛlkəfwa/ |
|
especially |
surtout |
/syʀtu/ |
usually |
d'habitude |
/dabityd/ |
|
except |
sauf |
/sof/ |
also, too |
aussi |
/osi/ |
|
of course |
bien sûr |
/bjɛ̃ syʀ/ |
again |
encore |
/ɑ̃kɔʀ/ |
|
so so |
comme ci, comme ça |
/kɔm si, kɔm sa/ |
late |
en retard |
/ɑ̃ʀətaʀ/ |
|
not bad |
pas mal |
/pa mal/ |
almost |
presque |
/pʀɛsk/ |
|
book |
le livre |
/lə livʀ/ |
friend (fem) |
une amie |
/y nami/ |
|
pencil |
le crayon |
/lə kʀɛjɔ̃/ |
friend (masc) |
un ami |
/œ̃ nami/ |
|
pen |
le stylo |
/lə stilo/ |
woman |
une femme |
/yn fam/ |
|
paper |
le papier |
/lə papje/ |
man |
un homme |
/œ̃ nɔm/ |
|
dog |
le chien |
/lə ʃjɛ̃/ |
girl |
une fille |
/yn fij/ |
|
cat |
le chat |
/lə ʃa/ |
boy |
un garçon |
/œ̃̃ gaʀsɔ̃/ |
|
money |
l'argent (m) |
/laʀʒɑ̃/ |
job / work |
le travail |
/lə tʀavaj/ |
Note: The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money include: le fric, le pèze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot.
