Ellen
Full Member
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.'Edgar Degas'
Posts: 193
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Post by Ellen on Jul 9, 2008 12:43:16 GMT -5
My question is, is there a trick to learning which is a masculine item and which is feminine? I just don't get it.
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Post by luckyluc on Jul 9, 2008 12:52:55 GMT -5
Sorry to tell you, there are no tricks. You have to learn the words with their gender at the same time.
As a kid when we learn a new word we learn the gender at the same time. So it is not "chaise" it is "la chaise".
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 9, 2008 13:20:59 GMT -5
LL, I seem to have a vague recollection (highschool French was loooong ago!) that although it is not always true, the majority of nouns that end in "e" are feminine - is that generally accurate?
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Post by annettecinca on Jul 9, 2008 15:11:08 GMT -5
Becky, that is what I learned as well, so I'm interested in hearing the answer! My instructor said if you guess, you'll be incorrect only half the time ...but I do know the French hate to hear their beautiful language slaughtered, so I'm hesitant to guess.
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Ellen
Full Member
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.'Edgar Degas'
Posts: 193
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Post by Ellen on Jul 9, 2008 15:43:16 GMT -5
Thanks guys, I'll try that one about nouns ending in 'e'. As Annettecinca said , I'll only be wrong half of the time..lol! I love learning this language, . Going to Paris again in September, can't wait. , I think I know a few more words than last year.
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Post by luckyluc on Jul 9, 2008 15:56:29 GMT -5
Here is a good resume on the question. As you will see there is no logic or perfect rule. A good tool to have when learning French is a dictionnary, not only a French-English dictionary but a French one (Larousse, Robert). When learning a new word, one should read the definition, often more then one....see some example of the usage and of course learn the gender at the same time. french.about.com/library/weekly/bl-gender-m.htm
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 9, 2008 16:14:33 GMT -5
Good point (and suggestion) LL! Thanks.
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 9, 2008 21:39:59 GMT -5
Great link, Luc. However, I'm not so sure I like the idea that "merde" is feminine.
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Post by annettecinca on Jul 9, 2008 23:30:51 GMT -5
Great link, Luc. However, I'm not so sure I like the idea that "merde" is feminine. ROFLMPPO ;D
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Post by GitteK on Jul 12, 2008 8:04:05 GMT -5
Only always remember that "un problème" is masculine and "une solution" is female...... ;D
BTW, I do mean to recall that words ending with "-ion" are female.
And I can never make the rule work about "ends on -e" should be female. I find too many words which fall outside the rule. Are you sure it is not something from your German classes that you got mixed up ? because it does work in German: "eine Tasse", "eine Frage", "eine Reise", etc.
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Post by chicchantal on Jul 12, 2008 8:06:45 GMT -5
I can think of at least one other word that I daren't mention on here for fear of being told off that is masculine and logically shouldn't be.
Apparently the ancient theory is that words with an active function are masculine and those that are more passive are feminine. Un-PC or what.
There are however groups you can learn (with a list of exceptions in each). Words ending in eau tend to be masculine. Words ending ation tend to be feminine. Words ending age are mostly er er er feminine I think. Words ending in e tend to be feminine. Except the ones that aren't like le domaine and le manque. It sometimes helps to add an adjective where you can hear the difference to a word and learn it like that, eg table blanche cos you can hear a definite difference between blanc and blanche.
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Post by Sarastro on Jul 27, 2008 19:35:27 GMT -5
<<<Words ending in eau tend to be masculine>>>
There are only two "eau" words which are feminine:
la peau
l'eau
Most words ending in "al" are masculine.
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Post by mossie on Jul 28, 2008 8:22:51 GMT -5
ChicChantal writes "Apparently the ancient theory is that words with an active function are masculine and those that are more passive are feminine. Un-PC or what." Please explain "le vagin" I'll go quietly
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Post by Happygoin on Jul 28, 2008 8:28:16 GMT -5
LOL
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 28, 2008 8:56:55 GMT -5
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Jul 28, 2008 10:12:46 GMT -5
Mossie, I should think there are some obvious answers but I'm not going to go there!
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Post by chicchantal on Jul 28, 2008 10:52:18 GMT -5
LOL! that was the one I dared not post but you seem to have survived!
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Post by mossie on Jul 28, 2008 13:03:37 GMT -5
Ah but Chic, you baited the honeytrap, and typical dumb man that I am, I just plunged straight in. Is there another way??
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Post by chicchantal on Jul 29, 2008 12:29:58 GMT -5
Do you think any goil would tell you if there were?
BTW, I seem to be developing a NY accent here.
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Post by mossie on Jul 30, 2008 5:06:36 GMT -5
Dearest Chic, you're no New Yorker, you are the perfect English rosebud.
Stands stiffly to attention Clicks heels together Bows low Takes and lightly kisses the back of the ladies hand
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