Language methods use grammatical terms as if they were obvious.
However, my experience is that many students donât really understand these words. So in some cases itâs not so much the French grammar itself they donât understand, but the French vocabulary their book uses to explain it.
Iâm very aware of that problem, this is why I always explain everything very clearly in my progressive French audiobook learning method Ă Moi Paris.
So, today Iâll explain the grammatical terms of âgenderâ and ânumberâ in English and in French.
What Does âGenderâ Mean in Grammar?
In English, gender is linked to the sex of a living being.
- A man is masculine, and to talk about him, youâd use masculine pronouns such as âhimâ, âheâ, âhisâ.
- A woman is feminine, and youâd use âher, she, herâ to talk about her.
It doesnât matter whether the said man and woman are âmasculineâ or âfeminineâ in their attitude. Here, these words are grammatical terms, they donât mean âacting in a feminine/masculine wayâ. - And things are neutral, like a book, and youâd use âit, itsâ to refer to it.
In French, all nouns â whether they refer to living beings or not â are either masculine or feminine. There is no âneutralâ in French.
If itâs a living being, the gender will be determined by the sex: feminine or masculine. A female dog will be feminine. A male dog masculine. Again, no neutral in French, so all living being as well as⌠well everything⌠is either masculine or feminine.
So in French, all nouns have an âassignedâ gender that needs to be memorised with the noun when you memorize it.
Some words ending tend to show the French word is masculine, and there are also some feminine word endings, but most of the time you canât guess and just have to memorize the gender of the noun by heart.
For example:
- a book in French is masculine, un livre
- a table is feminine, une table
- freedom is feminine, la libertĂŠ
- Canada is masculine, le Canada
- and France is feminine, la France
Avoid a Terrible Mistake When Studying French
When you learn a new noun, you should always learn its gender at the same time since it will affect the spelling and pronunciation of the words related to it, such as French adjectives.
In books or French vocabulary lists, the gender of a noun is usually indicated with an (m) for masculine, (f) for feminine, or shown by the French article (le, la, un, une) that accompanies it.
Never learn from a list of French words which doesnât include gender information, youâd be missing half of the information! (Be warned, the internet is unfortunately full of such listsâŚ)
Make sure you also indicate the gender of nouns when you make your own French flashcards.
Why is a Noun Feminine or Masculine in French?
A question my students often ask me is âwhy is this French word feminine?â And âwhy is that French word masculine?â.
I donât know. Nobody knows.
Why is âhappinessâ masculine in French: le bonheur, but âsadnessâ feminine in French: la tristesse ?
I donât know.
Why can you find a synonym of âle bonheurâ in French but now itâs feminine: joy, la joie is feminine in French.
I donât know.
Is French language sexist?
HumâŚ. I donât make the rules, so Iâll leave this debate to the philosophersâŚ
âWhyâ is not a good question to ask there. It is what it is. And you need to memorize the gender of each noun in French. There is simply no way around it.
Note that there are emerging French âneutralâ pronouns being used mostly within the LGBTQ+ community, such as âielâ.

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What Does Number Mean in Grammar?
In French grammar, number doesnât mean 1, 2, 3 etcâŚ
Number is the grammatical term used to talk about singular or plural, which means:
- singular = one person or one thing
- plural = more than one
French Nouns and Number
In English, adding a pronounced âsâ at the end makes a noun plural: books, tables⌠This S is pronounced in English, so you can easily tell if you are talking about something singular âbookâ or plural âbookSâ. You see it in writing, but you also hear it when you speak.
Some English nouns have an irregular plural: âchildrenâ.
In French, the plural of a noun is created by adding a silent âsâ at the end, sometimes itâs a silent âxâ and there are also irregular plurals. So, since the S of the plural is silent, how can you tell if something is singular or plural when you speak French?
To know whether the noun is singular or plural, you will have to listen to the words related to the noun, since the noun itself is likely to be pronounced the same way in the singular and in the plural.
For example: une table, des tables â a table, some tables.
In French, the word âtable(s)â is pronounced the same way whether it is singular (une table) or plural (des tables), so whether it ends with an S or not. In both cases, itâs pronounced âtablâ.
Only the article (une, des etcâŚ) changes.
Look For The Related Words That Complete the Noun
French common nouns will have a little word accompanying them.
This little word is important because it shows the number and gender of the noun. Like a pilot in a plane, these little words work together with French nouns to complete them. They are called definite, indefinite or partitive articles, or possessive, demonstrative, interrogative adjectivesâŚ
For example: ma table â my table, cette table â this table, quelle table ? which table? Etc⌠Not only do these words carry the notion of âmyâ, âthisâ and âwhichâ, they also carry the number and gender in French.
They are a bit of a pain because they change according to the number and gender of the noun, but sometimes also according to other factors, like French possessive adjectives.
But mostly, they are a pain because where in English you have one word, in French, we have three, or moreâŚ
For example, if you take the definite article âtheâ in English (easy enough), well, in French itâs not that easy⌠We have four different words meaning âtheâ !!
- le for a masculine word = le livre
- la for a feminine word = la table
- les for a plural word = les livres or les tables
At least itâs the same for feminine and masculine plural! - And we have a mutant form⌠Lâ for a word which starts with a vowel or a H = lâordinateur (masculine â computer), lâheure (feminine â hour)
Again, itâs the same word for feminine and masculine words starting with a vowel or a h.
So, in total, there are four âtheâ in French. There could be six⌠consider yourself lucky!
This usually is super confusing for English speaking students (not Spanish students⌠itâs exactly the same in SpanishâŚ)
Yet, typical teaching methods fly over this as if it was absolutely obvious. And this is how I meet intermediate level students who still make mistakes with their articlesâŚ.
Even if you understand the logic, it doesnât mean you are able to apply it easily. We are not robots! You need to practice to really make these concepts yours. This is so different from English! No wonder students need a little time to let it sink in!
Make sure you study French with a progressive French learning method, which really explains things clearly and gradually, giving you plenty of practice before you move on to the next point.

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French Pronouns and Number
Sometimes, only the context will tell you if something is plural or singular, since the pronunciation of everything will be the same in the singular and the plural.
Itâs the case for many French verbs since the French pronouns âil, elleâ singular (he, it, she) and âils, ellesâ plural (they) are pronounced the same way! It can be very confusing!
For examples, the French pronunciation of âhe is speakingâ and âthey are speakingâ is the same in French: il parle = ils parlent = âeel parlââ
Only the context will tell you if the âil(s)â is singular or plural in French.
Most students learn with a written method. So, since itâs written differently, itâs obvious enough. But they donât realize âilâ and âilsâ, âparleâ and âparlentâ are pronounced the same way! And then they canât understand the French when they speak.
Chances are that the students will also mispronounce the French words to try to make a difference between the singular and the plural. Hence the importance to always study French with audio, even for grammar!
Whatâs the Gender and Number of that French Word
So now that you understand the grammatical terms gender and number, youâll be able to answer a typical French language class question: âwhat is the number and gender of that French word?â
For example, if I say âune tableâ â the gender is feminine, and the number is singular.
Both are show by the French article âuneâin this example, however your French teacher may have withhold this information during the test if you had to memorize a list of French words! Gender and Number are part of the info and you need to learn this at the same time as you learn your French word.
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