#0.uta

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dreamy sparrowBOT
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Please be patient

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kind scarab
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Why is that?
Grammatical gender likely came from a time when nouns were grouped into animate and inanimate objects and evolved from there.

How do you tell?
You mostly just need to memorise the genders. Certain noun endings increase the chance that a noun is a certain gender. When reading a text, you can also tell based on certain factors:

  • Extra e after 'é' -> feminine

Elle est éveillée
La voiture qu'il a volée

  • Le/la
  • Il/elle to refer to nouns
  • ...
solar umbra
kind scarab
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Good point.

dry cairn
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hii!! i know this is a bit late, but hopefully this can help out a bit! there are some patterns with nouns that can help you know which one is feminine and which one is masculine.

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Patterns for Masculine Nouns

  • ACLE
    Ex: Un obstacle
    Ex: Un miracle

  • AGE
    Ex: Un paysage
    Ex: Un coloriage
    EXCEPT une page and une plage

  • AL
    Ex: Un cheval
    Ex: Un canal
    Ex: Un journal

  • EAU
    Ex: Un morceau (a piece)
    Ex: Un gateau
    EXCEPT une eau and une peau

  • EU
    Ex: Un neveu
    Ex: Un bleu (a bruise)

  • ET
    Ex: Un tabouret (a stool)
    Ex: Un ticket (a receipt)

  • IER
    Ex: Un pommier (an apple tree)
    Ex: Un papier
    Ex: Un chantier (a construction site)

  • IN
    Ex: Un vin
    Ex: Un voisin
    Ex: Un raisin (a grape)

  • ISME
    Ex: Un organisme (an organization)
    Ex: Un prisme (a prism)

  • MENT
    Ex: Un changement (a change)
    Ex: Un argument
    Ex: Un jugement

  • OIR
    Ex: Un rasoir
    Ex: Un bavoir (a bib)
    Ex: Un devoir

  • OU
    Ex: Un trou (a hole)
    Ex: Un clou (a nail)

  • ON
    Ex: Un hibou (an owl)
    Ex: Un avion
    Ex: Un crayon
    EXCEPT une prison

  • Days of the week are always masculine
    Ex: Le lundi

  • Seasons are always masculine
    Ex: Un ete
    Ex: Un hiver
    Ex: Un printemps
    Ex: Un automne

  • Languages are always masculine
    Ex: Le francais
    Ex: Le russe
    Ex: Le grecque

  • Weights and metrics are always masculine
    Ex: Un kilometre
    Ex: Un litre
    Ex: Un gramme

  • English words used in French are usually masculine
    Ex: Un week-end
    Ex: Un email
    Ex: Un parking

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Patterns for Feminine Nouns

About 90% of nouns ending in ‘e’ are feminine
Ex: Une plante, une fenêtre, une couverture

  • ADE
    Ex: Une balade (a walk)

  • ALE
    Ex: Une rivale (a rival)

  • ANCE
    Ex: Une chance

  • ENCE
    Ex: Une urgence (an emergency)

  • ETTE
    Ex: Une vedette (a star)

  • IE
    Ex: Une colonie (a colony)

  • IQUE
    Ex: Une crique (a creek)

  • OIRE
    Ex: Une victoire (a victory)

  • SION
    Ex: Une passion

  • TE/TIE
    Ex: Une société
    EXCEPT un été

  • TION
    Ex: Une lotion

  • URE
    Ex: Une aventure
    Ex: Une voiture

  • Most countries ending in ‘E’ are feminine
    EXCEPT Le Mexique