The gender of nouns

○ Reminder

In French, all common nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. Generally speaking, a masculine word does not end in *-e*, while a feminine word does. However, there are many exceptions!

○ Forming the feminine with *-e*

In general, the feminine form of a masculine word is created by adding an *-e* to the end of the word.

*un apprenti* → *une apprentie* (masculine and feminine for "an apprentice")

*un marchand* → *une marchande* (masculine and feminine for "a merchant")

If the noun already ends in *-e*, the spelling does not change. The feminine gender is indicated by the article preceding the noun.

Masculine nouns take singular articles such as *un*, *le*, *l'*, *ce*, *cet*, *ton*, *mon*, and *son*.

In the feminine, these articles become *une*, *la*, *l'*, *cette*, *ta*, *ma*, and *sa*.

○ Special feminine forms

Adding an *-e* to the end of the noun can lead to sound changes that are reflected in the spelling.

• Nouns ending in *-er* change to *-ère*

• Some masculine nouns double the final consonant.

• Nouns ending in *-eur* form the feminine with *-euse*

• Some nouns ending in *-e* form the feminine with *-esse*.

• Increasingly, professions can be feminized