Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives PDF

1 Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives Gender and Number of Nouns and Articles A noun is a person, place, or thing. In French, all nouns are masculine or feminine (gender) and singular or plural (number). The French definite arti- cle is used more frequently than th...

1 Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives Gender and Number of Nouns and Articles A noun is a person, place, or thing. In French, all nouns are masculine or feminine (gender) and singular or plural (number). The French definite arti- cle is used more frequently than the is used in English. The Definite Article The French definite article agrees with the noun in gender and number. Singular Plural Masculine le les Feminine la les Masculine and feminine l’ les before a vowel sound or mute h Masculine Nouns Masculine singular nouns take the definite article le. The genders of French nouns are hard to guess. You will learn them as you go along. Pronounce the following nouns with their article. Refer to the Guide to Pronunciation as needed. le chat (the cat) le frère (the brother) le chien (the dog) le garçon (the boy) le cinéma (the cinema, film, movies) le livre (the book) le cours (the course, class) le téléphone (the telephone) le football (soccer) le vin (the wine) 3 4 First Elements of French Feminine Nouns Feminine singular nouns take the definite article la. la banque (the bank) la lampe (the lamp) la boutique (the store, shop) la langue (the language) la chemise (the shirt) la sœur (the sister) la femme (the woman, wife) la table (the table) la jeune fille (the girl) la voiture (the car) Many feminine nouns end in -e, but please don’t consider this a general rule. The nouns in the following list do not end in -e; however, they are all feminine. Most final consonants are silent in French. In the list below, only the final -r is sounded. la chaleur (heat, warmth) la forêt (the forest) la croix (the cross) la fourmi (the ant) la distraction (the amusement) la main (the hand) la fleur (the fl ower) la nuit (the night) la fois (the time [occasion]) la radio (the radio) Masculine and Feminine Articles Before a Vowel Sound or Mute h The definite article l’ is used before all singular nouns, maculine and femi- nine, starting with a vowel or a mute (non-aspirate) h. The -e or -a of the definite article is dropped (elided). When the noun starts with h, pronounce the vowel that follows the h. Learn the gender (m. or f.) in parentheses for each noun. When you be- gin to attach adjectives to nouns, it will be easier to remember their gender. l’ami (m.) the friend (m.) l’histoire (f.) the story, history l’amie (f.) the friend (f.) l’homme (m.) the man l’anglais (m.) English (language) l’hôtel (m.) the hotel l’architecte (m. or f.) the architect l’île (f.) the island l’emploi (m.) the job l’orange (f.) the orange (fruit) l’énergie (f.) energy l’université (f.) the university l’enfant (m. or f.) the child (m. or f.) l’usine (f.) the factory  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 5 Singular Nouns and the Definite Article The definite article indicates a specific person, place, thing, or idea. It also precedes nouns that are used in a general sense. C’est l’amie de ma mère. That’s (She’s) my mother’s friend. Les Français adorent le football The French love soccer and et le cyclisme. cycling. P Le, la, and l’ Remember: Le is used with masculine singular nouns beginning with a con- sonant; la is used with feminine singular nouns beginning with a consonant; and l’ is used with both masculine and feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel and for most nouns beginning with the letter h. The Initial Letter h The letter h is always silent in French. Words starting with the letter h— l’homme, for example—are pronounced beginning with the first vowel sound. This is called a mute h. However, in front of some French words starting with h, for historical reasons, the article does not elide the -e or -a. For example: la *harpe the harp la *honte shame le *héros the hero le *hors-d’œuvre the appetizer This is called an aspirate h. This h is also a silent letter; it is not pronounced. French dictionaries show the aspirate h with a diacritical mark. In this book, words beginning with an aspirate h are indicated by an asterisk (*). Learning the Gender of Nouns Gender is linked to the noun word, rarely to the physical thing or the per- son. Always learn the gender of a noun with its article: le livre (the book), la fenêtre (the window). Genders of nouns starting with a vowel need to be memorized separately: l’âge (m.) (age), l’hôtel (m.) (the hotel), l’horloge (f.) (the clock). Several rules can help you guess if a French noun is masculine or feminine: Nouns that refer to males are usually masculine; nouns that refer to females are usually feminine: l’homme (m.) (the man); la femme (the woman). 6 First Elements of French The ending of a noun can be a clue to its gender. Here are some common masculine and feminine endings. Be aware of cognate nouns, which are close to English in spelling and meaning. Masculine Feminine -eau le bureau, le château -ence la différence, l’existence -isme le tourisme, l’idéalisme -ie la tragédie, la compagnie -ment le moment, le département -ion la nation, la fonction -té l’université, la diversité -ude l’attitude, la solitude -ure la littérature, l’ouverture Watch out for exceptions: l’eau (f.) (water), la peau (skin), le silence (silence). Nouns adopted from other languages are usually masculine: le jogging, le tennis, le jazz, le basket-ball. Exception: la pizza. Some nouns referring to people indicate gender by their ending. The feminine form often ends in -e. l’Allemand the German (m.) l’Allemande the German (f.) l’Américain the American (m.) l’Américaine the American (f.) l’ami the friend (m.) l’amie the friend (f.) l’étudiant the student (m.) l’étudiante the student (f.) le Français the Frenchman la Française the Frenchwoman Note that final d, n, s, and t are silent in the masculine form, as in the examples above. When followed by -e in the feminine form, d, n, s, and t are pronounced. Some nouns that end in -e and the names of some professions have only one singular form, used to refer to both males and females. In this case, the article remains the same whether the actual person is male or female. l’auteur (m.) (the author) la personne (the person) l’écrivain (m.) (the writer) le professeur (the teacher, professor) l’ingénieur (m.) (the engineer) la sentinelle (the guard, watchman) le médecin (the physician) la victime (the victim)  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 7 P Evolving Style In contemporary Canadian French and among some other French speakers, you may also see or read a feminine form for a few traditional professions (la professeure, l’écrivaine, l’auteure). For learners, however, it’s best to continue using the masculine forms of these nouns to refer to both males and females. For certain nouns referring to people, the gender of the individual is sometimes indicated by the article alone. Such nouns most often end in -e; the spelling of the noun does not change when the gender changes. le journaliste/la journaliste the journalist le secrétaire/la secrétaire the secretary le touriste/la touriste the tourist K Exercise 1.1 Write the appropriate singular definite article for each of the nouns. Pronounce each word in French as you write the answer, making sure you know its meaning. 1. ami 8. publicité 2. homme 9. comédie 3. lampe 10. différence 4. fenêtre 11. médecin 5. hôtel 12. sculpture 6. réalisme 13. prononciation 7. ingénieur 14. gâteau The Indefinite Article The singular indefinite article in French, corresponding to a (an) in English, is un for masculine nouns and une for feminine nouns. The plural of both forms is des, roughly equivalent to some (though it’s usually not translated as some). Depending on the context, un/une can also mean the number one. 8 First Elements of French Singular Plural Masculine un des Feminine une des Masculine Nouns Pronounce the examples, learning the gender of each noun along with its article. The indefinite article is the same for nouns beginning with a conso- nant or a vowel. un ami a friend (m.) un hôtel an hotel un autobus a bus un jardin a garden un billet a ticket un musée a museum un dictionnaire a dictionary un pianiste a pianist (m.) un fauteuil an easy chair un salon a living room Feminine Nouns Pronounce the following examples and learn the meaning of words new to you. A practical way to learn the gender of a noun is to link it with un or une. une amie a friend (f.) une librairie a bookstore une bibliothèque a library une mère a mother une héroïne a heroine une page a (book) page une *Hollandaise a Dutchwoman une valise a suitcase une leçon a lesson une ville a city Note that l’héroïne (f.) (unlike le *héros) is pronounced with a mute h and elides its definite article. The h of le *héros is an aspirate h (no elision). Plural Nouns The plural definite article of all nouns is les; the plural indefinite article is des. Most French nouns are made plural by adding an -s to the singular. In addition, note the following plural endings:  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 9 Nouns that end in -s, -x, or -z in the singular stay the same in the plural. un choix des choix a choice, (some) choices le cours les cours the course, the courses le nez les nez the nose, the noses Some plural noun endings are irregular. le bureau les bureaux the desk (or office), the desks (or offices) un hôpital des hôpitaux a hospital, (some) hospitals le lieu les lieux the place, the places le travail les travaux (the) work, the tasks (or jobs) The masculine form is always used to refer to a group (two or more peo- ple) that includes at least one male. un étudiant et six étudiantes des étudiants students un Français et une Française des Français French (people) Pronouncing the Plural The final -s is usually not pronounced in French: les touristes [lay too-Reest] Spoken French distinguishes most singular and plural nouns by the pro- nunciation of the definite article: le touriste [luh too-Reest] versus les touristes [lay too-Reest] When the -s of a plural article (les or des) is followed by a vowel sound, it is pronounced [z] and begins the following syllable; this is called a liaison: lesexercices (m.) [lay-zehg-zehR-sees]; deshommes (m.) [day-zuhm] There is no liaison with the aspirate h. Pronounce the nasal vowel un [I ] before un *héros [In ay-Roh], and do not make the liaison with -s in les n *héros [lay ay-Roh]. Pronounce the following out loud: 10 First Elements of French desartistes [day-zahr-teest] leshommes [lay-zuhm] les cafés [lay kah-fay] des *hors-d’œuvre [day uhr-dERR-vR] desétudiants les restaurants [lay Rehs-toh-RA n] [day-zay-tU-dyA n] NOTE: The word les (or des) *hors-d’œuvre is invariable in the plural; it has no final -s. K Exercise 1.2 Write the plural form of each singular noun. Make sure you know its meaning. 1. une artiste 2. un *hors-d’œuvre 3. le milieu 4. l’étudiante 5. un Français 6. un café 7. le chapeau (hat) 8. l’eau 9. la fenêtre 10. un choix 11. une préférence 12. le travail 13. le nez 14. un cours  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 11 K Exercise 1.3 Pronounce the nouns with their articles, then write the English equivalent. If the gender is not clear from the spelling, show it by writing m. or f. 1. la fenêtre 2. le cyclisme 3. les hôpitaux 4. une sentinelle 5. les écrivains 6. les amies 7. des chapeaux 8. le travail 9. des choix 10. un cours 11. des *hors-d’œuvre 12. des hommes 13. la peau 14. l’Allemande 15. les livres 16. un lieu 17. des histoires 18. une horloge 19. des gâteaux 20. la femme Descriptive Adjectives Descriptive adjectives are used to describe nouns. In French, descriptive adjectives usually follow the nouns they modify. Descriptive adjectives may also follow forms of the verb être (to be): il/elle est... (he/she/it is... ); ils/ elles sont... (they are... ). See Chapter 2 for the conjugation of the verb être. 12 First Elements of French un professeur intéressant an interesting teacher un ami sincère a sincere friend Il est pratique. He/It is practical. Elle est sportive. She is athletic. Agreement of Adjectives in Gender and Number In French, adjectives agree in both gender and number with the nouns they modify. The feminine form of adjectives usually ends in -e. The regular plu- ral adds an s. Singular Plural Masculine un ami intelligent des amis intelligents Feminine une amie intelligente des amies intelligentes If the masculine singular form of the adjective ends in an unaccented or silent -e, the ending remains the same in the feminine singular. C’est un homme extraordinaire. He’s an extraordinary man. C’est une femme extraordinaire. She’s an extraordinary woman. Paul est optimiste. Paul is optimistic. Mais Claire est pessimiste. But Claire is pessimistic. If the singular form of an adjective ends in -s or -x, the plural ending remains the same. Bradley est anglais; les amis Bradley is English; Bradley’s de Bradley sont aussi anglais. friends are also English. M. Blin est généreux; ses (his) Mr. Blin is generous; his children enfants sont aussi généreux. are also generous. If a plural subject or group contains one or more masculine items or people, the plural adjective is masculine. Suzanne et Georges Suzanne and Georges are sont intelligents. intelligent. Suzanne et Amélie sont Suzanne and Amélie are intelligentes. intelligent.  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 13 Invariable adjectives or adjectival phrases do not change in gender or number. Ce sont des chaussures chic These are stylish and inexpensive et bon marché. shoes. Some descriptive adjectives have irregular forms. Singular MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH conservateur conservatrice conservative courageux courageuse courageous fier fière proud gentil gentille nice naturel naturelle natural parisien parisienne Parisian sportif sportive athletic travailleur travailleuse hardworking Plural MASCULINE FEMININE ENGLISH conservateurs conservatrices conservative courageux courageuses courageous fiers fières proud gentils gentilles nice naturels naturelles natural parisiens parisiennes Parisian sportifs sportives athletic travailleurs travailleuses hardworking Other descriptive adjectives with irregular forms include the following examples: canadien (canadienne) Canadian cher (chère) expensive; dear conspirateur (conspiratrice) conspiratorial ennuyeux (ennuyeuse) boring naïf (naïve) naïve paresseux (paresseuse) lazy sérieux (sérieuse) serious 14 First Elements of French Adjectives of Color Adjectives of color normally follow the noun and agree with it in gender and in number. une chemise bleue a blue shirt des livres gris gray books des chaussures vertes green shoes Two adjectives of color, blanc and violet, have irregular feminine forms. un crayon blanc a white pencil une chemise blanche a white shirt des cahiers violets purple notebooks des voitures violettes purple cars Adjectives of color ending in silent -e are spelled the same in both mas- culine and feminine. des cahiers (m. pl.) jaunes yellow notebooks des fleurs (f. pl.) jaunes yellow fl owers une chaise rouge a red chair un manteau rouge a red coat des pull-overs (m. pl.) roses pink sweaters des chaussettes (f. pl.) roses pink socks Two adjectives of color, marron and orange, are invariable in gender and number. des chaussures marron (f. pl.) brown shoes des sacs orange (m. pl.) orange handbags The names of colors are masculine when used as nouns. J’aime le rose et le bleu. I love pink and blue. Adjectives That Precede the Noun Most descriptive adjectives follow the noun, but these adjectives usually precede it: autre other joli(e) pretty beau (m. s.) beautiful, handsome mauvais(e) bad bon(ne) good même same  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 15 grand(e) big, tall; great nouveau (m. s.) new gros(se) fat, big petit(e) small; short jeune young vieux (m. s.) old The adjectives beau (beautiful, handsome), nouveau (new), and vieux (old) are irregular. In addition, each has a second masculine singular form that is used before a vowel sound or mute h. Singular Plural   Masculine beau beaux un nouveau livre de nouveaux livres vieux vieux   Masculine bel beaux Before Vowel un nouvel objet de nouveaux objets Sound vieil vieux   Feminine belle belles une nouvelle auto de nouvelles autos vieille vieilles Pronounce the examples below, and practice by substituting other nouns for maison and homme. What changes do you need to make in the ar- ticles and adjectives? C’est une belle maison. It’s a pretty house. C’est un vieil homme. He’s an old man. C’est le nouveau professeur. That’s the new teacher. When a plural adjective precedes a plural noun, the indefinite article des usually shortens to de/d’, as you may have noticed in the previous chart. de grandes autos (some) big cars de nouvelles idées (some) new ideas d’autres amis (some) other friends However, colloquial French often retains des before the plural. Ce sont des bons copains! They’re good pals! A few adjectives that usually precede nouns can also follow them. This change of position causes a change in meaning. For example: un ancien professeur (a former teacher) une maison ancienne (an ancient [very old] house) le dernier exercice (the final exercise) 16 First Elements of French l’année dernière (f.) (last year) un pauvre garçon (an unfortunate boy) un garçon pauvre (a poor [not rich] boy) une chère amie (a dear friend) un repas cher (an expensive meal) Key Vocabulary Learn these common adjectives to answer the question: Comment est... ? (What is... like?) when you want to describe something or someone. Answer with Il est.../Elle est... (He/She/It is...). Les adjectifs descriptifs (Descriptive Adjectives) agréable (pleasant) heureux (-euse) (happy) avare (stingy) idéaliste (idealistic) beau (bel, belle) (beautiful/handsome) intelligent(e) (intelligent) bon (bonne) (good) intéressant(e) (interesting) bon marché (inv.) (inexpensive) jeune (young) cher (chère) (expensive; dear) joli(e) (pretty) chic (inv.) (stylish, chic) laid(e) (ugly) content(e) (happy, pleased) mauvais(e) (bad) costaud(e) (sturdy [person]) mince (thin) dernier (-ière) (last, final) nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle (new) désolé(e) (sorry) pauvre (poor) difficile (difficult) petit(e) (small; short) drôle (funny) premier (-ière) (first) excellent(e) (excellent) riche (rich) facile (easy) sincère (sincere) fantastique (wonderful) sociable (friendly) fatigué(e) (tired) sympathique (nice) formidable (fabulous) timide (shy, timid) fort(e) (strong) triste (sad) grand(e) (big, tall; great) typique (typical) gros(se) (fat) vieux/vieil/vieille (old) Les couleurs (Colors) blanc(he) (white) blond(e) (blond[e]) bleu(e) (blue) brun(e) (dark-haired)  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 17 gris(e) (gray) rose (pink) jaune (yellow) rouge (red) marron (inv.) (brown) vert(e) (green) noir(e) (black) violet(te) (purple) orange (inv.) (orange) K Exercise 1.4 Write the feminine singular form of the adjectives given. 1. intéressant 11. cher 2. naïf 12. conservateur 3. agréable 13. beau 4. sérieux 14. gros 5. jaune 15. actif 6. marron 16. gentil 7. bleu 17. travailleur 8. costaud 18. drôle 9. fier 19. vieux 10. chic 20. heureux K Exercise 1.5 Complete the phrases with the correct adjective that agrees in gender and number. 1. le (old) homme 2. la situation (difficult) 3. la (beautiful) maison 4. la personne (nice) 5. les fleurs (yellow) 6. des amis (sincere) 7. un (great) homme 18 First Elements of French 8. une voiture (ancient) 9. d’ (former) professeurs 10. des appartements (inexpensive) 11. une comédie (funny) 12. un livre (interesting) Key Vocabulary In French, names of all languages are masculine. They often correspond to the masculine singular form of the noun of nationality: l’anglais (m.) (the English language); l’Anglaise (the Englishwoman). Adjectives of nationality and languages are not capitalized, but nouns are. Les nationalités (Nationalities) ADJECTIFS PERSONNES LANGUES allemand(e) (German) un(e) Allemand(e) l’allemand américain(e) un(e) Américain(e) l’anglais anglais(e) (English) un(e) Anglais(e) l’anglais belge (Belgian) un(e) Belge le français, le flamand canadien(ne) un(e) Canadien(ne) l’anglais, le français chinois(e) un(e) Chinois(e) le chinois espagnol(e) (Spanish) un(e) Espagnol(e) l’espagnol français(e) (French) un(e) Français(e) le français haïtien(ne) un(e) Haïtien(ne) le français, le créole israélien(ne) un(e) Israélien(ne) l’hébreu italien(ne) un(e) Italien(ne) l’italien japonais(e) un(e) Japonais(e) le japonais libanais(e) (Lebanese) un(e) Libanais(e) l’arabe marocain(e) (Moroccan) un(e) Marocain(e) l’arabe, le français mexicain(e) un(e) Mexicain(e) l’espagnol russe (Russian) un(e) Russe le russe sénégalais(e) un(e) Sénégalais(e) le français, le wolof suisse un(e) Suisse l’allemand, le français, l’italien, le romanche vietnamien(ne) un(e) Vietnamien(ne) le vietnamien, le français  Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 19 K Exercise 1.6 Write the plural form of each of the noun-adjective phrases. 1. une lampe bleue 2. un ami sérieux 3. le chat gris 4. une Suisse sympathique 5. une personne costaude 6. le bel appartement 7. un jeune garçon 8. un examen difficile 9. le dernier train 10. le quartier ancien K Exercise 1.7 Translate the phrases into French. 1. the dark-haired men 2. the kind woman 3. (some) red shoes 4. the old hotels 5. the beautiful apartments 6. the interesting courses 7. the courageous heroes 8. the rich appetizers 9. (some) expensive cars 10. (some) idealistic Americans 11. the great universities 12. (some) new books 20 First Elements of French 13. the orange hats 14. (some) sad tragedies 15. the hardworking teachers 16. (some) proud people (persons)