Who decides if a word is masculine or feminine in French?

Masculine nouns use the pronouns le and un while feminine nouns use la and une. You may have heard that there is only one way to know the gender of a noun: to learn it by heart.

What makes a word masculine or feminine?

Masculine nouns are used with articles like el or un and have adjectives that end in -o, while female nouns use the articles la or una and have adjectives that end in -a. To know if a noun is masculine or feminine, you should look to see what letter(s) the word ends with.

What is the purpose of gendered nouns?

The gender of nouns plays an important role in the grammar of some languages. In French, for instance, a masculine noun can only take the masculine form of an adjective. If the noun is feminine, then it will take a different form of the same adjective – its feminine form.

What makes French words feminine?

Quick summary: most French words ending in E, a vowel + a double consonant, or ssion or tion are feminine. Michèle, la France, la fillette, la passion, la nation…. Now making a list of French endings that show a French noun is feminine is not easy since there are so many exceptions!

How do you know the difference between feminine and masculine in French?

Most nouns referring to men, boys and male animals are masculine; most nouns referring to women, girls and female animals are feminine. Generally, words ending in -e are feminine and words ending in a consonant are masculine, though there are many exceptions to this rule.

What is masculine and feminine in French?

Unlike English, French nouns have a gender (genre): they can be masculine (masculin) or feminine (féminin). Nouns with le or un are masculine, and nouns with la or une are feminine. You should always learn nouns together with their articles to be sure of their gender.

Is French masculine or feminine?

France is la France in French, which classifies it as a feminine noun.