The deep dive into gender, articles and adjectives — the machinery behind every noun phrase in French. Every rule is broken out with plenty of examples, the exact mistakes English speakers make, and a full FAQ. Take it a tab at a time.
In Lesson 1 you built sentences. This lesson makes those sentences correct and rich — the right article, the right plural, the right adjective ending, in the right place.
| Gender | every noun is le or la — and it changes everything around it |
| The partitive | "some bread" = du pain — a word English doesn't have |
| Agreement | adjectives change for feminine and plural |
| Position | most adjectives go after the noun |
| C'est vs il est | two ways to say "it is", used differently |
How to study: one tab per sitting, say every example aloud, study the mistake cards, do the mini-check, then move on. Come back to Tab 8 (mistakes) and Tab 9 (FAQ) often.
In French, every noun is masculine or feminine — not just people, but objects, ideas, everything. The words for "the" and "a" change to match, and so does every adjective and pronoun that touches the noun. This is the foundation of the whole lesson.
| the | a / an | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | le livre | un livre |
| feminine | la table | une table |
| before a vowel/h | l'ami · l'eau | un ami · une amie |
These are strong hints, not laws. A few common exceptions to memorize:
Get the gender wrong and a chain of errors follows — the article, the adjective, and the pronoun all copy it:
The one habit that fixes this forever: never learn a noun alone. Learn "une table", "un livre", "la voiture". The gender comes free with the word, and it sticks.
le or la? ___ nation · ___ fromage · ___ liberté · ___ bureau. → la · le · la · le
"The" plural is les; "some" plural is des. The noun itself usually just adds a silent -s — but a few groups change differently.
| les livres | the books |
| des amis | some friends |
| ends in… | rule | example |
|---|---|---|
| -s, -x, -z | no change | le prix → les prix |
| -eau, -eu | add -x | le bureau → les bureaux |
| -al | → -aux | le journal → les journaux |
| -ail (some) | → -aux | le travail → les travaux |
A few true irregulars worth knowing:
Because plural -s and -x are usually silent, you hear the plural in the article, not the noun: "le livre" vs "les livres" — the difference your ear catches is le vs les.
Plural of: le cheval · le gâteau · le prix. → les chevaux · les gâteaux · les prix
This is a word English doesn't really have. For things you can't count (bread, water, patience, money), French puts a little "some" word in front — even when English uses nothing.
| du (m.) | du pain — some bread |
| de la (f.) | de la viande — some meat |
| de l' (vowel) | de l'eau — some water |
| des (plural) | des légumes — some vegetables |
Compare — the article changes the meaning completely:
| le pain | bread in general (I like bread → j'aime le pain) |
| du pain | some bread (an amount — I eat some → je mange du pain) |
| un pain | one loaf (a countable unit) |
All of du / de la / des / un / une collapse to de (or d') after a negative verb.
Fill: Je bois ___ eau. · Il mange ___ viande. · Je n'ai ___ argent. · beaucoup ___ amis. → de l' · de la · pas d' · d'
A French adjective copies its noun: it changes for feminine and for plural. Once you know the patterns, they're very regular.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | grand | grands |
| feminine | grande | grandes |
Feminine adds -e; plural adds -s; feminine plural adds -es.
| masc. ending | feminine | example |
|---|---|---|
| -eux | -euse | heureux → heureuse |
| -f | -ve | sportif → sportive |
| -er | -ère | cher → chère |
| -on | -onne | bon → bonne |
| -el | -elle | naturel → naturelle |
| -il | -ille | gentil → gentille |
And a few one-off irregulars to memorize:
Make feminine: sportif · bon · cher · beau. → sportive · bonne · chère · belle
The default is after the noun — the opposite of English. A short, common set goes before.
Short, everyday adjectives of Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size go before the noun:
Three of these change shape before a masculine word starting with a vowel, for smoother sound:
| beau → bel | un bel homme |
| nouveau → nouvel | un nouvel ami |
| vieux → vieil | un vieil arbre |
Order it: (blanche / maison / une) · (jardin / beau / un). → une maison blanche · un beau jardin
Both translate as "he/she/it is", but they're used in different situations. This confuses almost every learner, so go slowly.
Same idea, two builds: C'est un médecin (c'est + article + noun) = Elle est médecin (il/elle est + job, no article). Both correct — just don't mix them.
When you comment on a situation in general (not one specific thing), use c'est + a masculine adjective:
But when you describe one specific thing you just named, use il/elle est + agreeing adjective:
Choose: ___ un bon film. · ___ médecin. · Le sport ? ___ important. → C'est · Il/Elle est · C'est
The vocabulary to actually describe people, places and things. Feminine forms in brackets where they're irregular.
The recurring errors from this lesson, gathered in one place. Re-read before every writing task.
The questions this lesson always raises.
Quiz for instant feedback, then write two descriptions, then self-check.
Score: 0 / 18☐ Give any noun its correct le/la ☐ Form plurals incl. -aux/-eaux ☐ Use du/de la for "some" and de after negation ☐ Make an adjective agree (fem. + plural) ☐ Put the adjective in the right place ☐ Choose c'est vs il/elle est ☐ Spot all 12 top mistakes in your own writing.
Homework: in the Drill Bank, do Articles, Genre des noms, Adjectifs, C'est vs Il / Elle est, and Pluriels irréguliers. Then rewrite your two descriptions, fixing every mistake.
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