When you use a dictionary, you will find the symbols “m.” or “f.” next to each noun.  This indicates the gender of that noun (m. for masculine, and f. for feminine) and will tell you which definite article you must choose with that noun.  If a noun begins with a vowel and is singular, then you will use l’ as its definite article, regardless of whether this noun is masculine or feminine: for example l'ami (the male friend) and l'amie (the female friend).  The key is to memorize each new noun with its proper definite article, this way you will always know the gender of new nouns.  Native speakers of French know when the wrong definite article is being used with a noun, just because it “sounds funny.”  The more you practice memorizing the noun together with its article, the faster you will develop an ear for when things “sound funny” in French.  So if you are trying to memorize the word tableau (board), always include the article and repeat le tableau until you can no longer forget the correct gender of the noun tableau (masculine). 

Gender 

All French nouns are either masculine or feminine.  The concept of gender should be clear from your study of French up until now.  As a point of clarification, there are two kinds of gender in French: 1. Natural Gender 2. Grammatical Gender   

Natural gender 

This kind of gender comes from the sex of the noun.  If you are talking about a male person, the noun will be masculine.  If you are talking about a female person, the noun will be feminine.  For example, the brother is le frère, while the sister is la sœur.  This makes sense for nouns that represent boys and girls, but what about nouns like “book,” “table,” “necktie,” and "blouse" which do not necessarily seem more masculine than feminine in nature? 

Grammatical Gender 

Contrary to natural gender, grammatical gender is not dictated by the sex of the noun, because some nouns are neither male nor female.  The reasons why some of those nouns are masculine while others are feminine are not known.  You simply have to memorize each with its appropriate definite article.  Take the examples from the previous paragraph: 

                                        Book: le livre (masculine)

                                       Table: la table (feminine)

                                     Necktie: la cravate (feminine) 

                                      Blouse: le chemisier (masculine)

Books and tables do not give any clues as to why they are masculine or feminine.  You might think that since men generally wear neckties, those would be masculine, and since girls wear blouses, those would be feminine.  You would be wrong on both accounts.  Do not give up all hope, though!  There are some simple patterns and rules to help you.

The following table is meant to help you understand when nouns are USUALLY feminine.  Remember that there are exceptions to these patterns and they are only there as a general guide. 

Number 

That explains gender, but we still have a few more things to cover before we are completely done with nouns.  Let us talk about number.  In English, a noun is usually made plural by simply adding -s or -es at the end of that noun.  When you change a noun from singular to plural in French, you must consider a few things.    

General Rule: For most nouns, simply add -s at the end of the noun and change the definite article to les. 

                               le chien >>> les chiens

                               la porte >>> les portes 

General Rule: When nouns end in -al, drop the –al and add -aux. 

                                l’animal >>> les animaux

                                     le cheval >>> les chevaux 

General Rule: When nouns end in -eau, add -x.

                                l’eau >>> les eaux

                                le tableau >>> les tableaux 

General Rule: If the noun already ends in –s, -x, or –z add nothing 

                                la souris >>> les souris

                                le gaz   >>>> les gaz  

That is it for now!  Make sure that you review these rules as often as you need to, and most importantly, do not forget to memorize each noun with its corresponding definite article!  This will make your life a lot easier.  When you are ready, move on to the next activity to practice French nouns and definite articles!  Bonne chance!