French exercises / A1 / Nouns, articles & adjectivesSort nouns into le and la by the endings that give them away.
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French noun gender rules
Gender is far more predictable than it is usually taught to be. The ending of a noun predicts it most of the time: -tion, -té, -ette and -ance are feminine; -ment, -age, -eau and -isme are masculine. Learn twenty endings and most nouns stop being guesswork.
Read the full explanationMasculin ou féminin ?: worked examples
Five from the set, with the answer filled in and the rule that decides it.
- 01
question → la
Nouns in -tion are feminine: la question, la nation, la solution.
- 02
décision → la
-sion works like -tion: la décision, la télévision.
- 03
liberté → la
Abstract nouns in -té are feminine: la liberté, la santé, la beauté.
- 04
université → la
Still -té, so still feminine, even hidden behind l': l'université.
- 05
baguette → la
-ette is feminine: la baguette, la fourchette, la serviette.