Masculine
French: KS3, topic 15.1.3
Singular Nouns
Here are some common masculine noun endings that will help you to know that the noun needs 'le' or 'un' before it. There are a few exceptions to every ending.
Masculine
- Nouns ending in b, c, cle, d, k, l, m, oir and p are usually masculine, but there are not that many of them in French.
- Le miel - the honey.
- Le dab - the dab.
- Nouns that also come from English, ending in 'ing' and 'isme', are masculine.
- Le jogging - jogging.
- Le sexisme - sexism.
Nouns ending in 'age'
- Nouns that end in 'age' are usually masculine.
- Le village - the village.
- Le fromage 🧀 - the cheese.
- Le garage - the garage.
- But there are lots of exceptions to this rule:
- La plage - the beach.
- La nage - swimming.
- La cage - cage.
Nouns ending in 'ment'
- Le gouvernement - the government.
- Un appartement -a flat.
- Le commencement - the beginning.
- There is one exception to this rule:
- La jument - the mare.
Nouns that end in 'é'
- 'é':
- Le café ☕ - the coffee.
- Le marché - the market.
- Le supermarché - the supermarket.
- The exceptions are:
- La clé 🔑 - the key
- La psyché - psyche
Nouns that end in 'eau'
- Le bateau 🛥️ - the boat.
- Le manteau - the coat.
- Le chapeau 🎩 - the hat
- There are two important exceptions:
- La peau - skin
- L'eau - water.
Nouns ending in 'in'
- Le vin 🍷 - the wine.
- Le magasin - the shop.
- Le jardin - the garden.
- Le chemin - the road, way.
- An exception is:
- La fin - the end.
Test yourself on Masculine
How do you say 'a cheese' in French?
Select the nouns that have the correct version of le/la before them.
How do you say 'the hat' in French?