1.8. Un, une et le genre des noms

Singular Indefinite Articles and the Grammatical Gender of Nouns

1.8.1. The Main Idea

In French, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine.

To say a or an, use un before a masculine singular noun and une before a feminine singular noun.

The article is part of the noun’s identity. Learn nouns with un or une from the beginning.

1.8.2. Masculine Nouns with Un

Use un with masculine singular nouns.

1.8.3. Feminine Nouns with Une

Use une with feminine singular nouns.

1.8.4. People and Gender

For people, the noun often changes depending on the person’s gender.

Sometimes the noun form looks the same, but the article shows the gender.

1.8.5. Things Have Gender Too

For objects and ideas, gender is grammatical. It does not mean the object is male or female.

A book is not “male” and a table is not “female.” French just gives nouns little grammar passports, and each passport says masculine or feminine.

1.8.6. Common Ending Clues

Some endings often suggest gender, but there are exceptions.

Often masculine:

Often feminine:

These are clues, not iron laws. When in doubt, check the article.

1.8.7. Un / Une Before Vowel Sounds

Un and une do not change before vowel sounds.

Unlike le and la, un and une do not become l’.

1.8.8. Asking What Something Is

Use Qu’est-ce que c’est ? to ask What is it?

1.8.9. Saying This Is / It Is

Use c’est un or c’est une to say this is a / it is a.

1.8.10. With Adjectives

Adjectives often change to match the gender of the noun.

You will learn adjective agreement in more detail later. For now, notice that the noun’s gender affects nearby words.

1.8.11. Core Patterns

1.8.12. Practice

1.8.13. Answers

1.8.14. Short Dialogue

1.8.15. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to use un with masculine singular nouns and une with feminine singular nouns, understand that French nouns have grammatical gender, ask Qu’est-ce que c’est ?, and answer with C’est un… or C’est une….