Identifying Objects

Unit 1: Lesson 2

Gender of NounsIn French, all nouns have “gender” – they are either

Masculine or Feminine.Sometimes, it is possible to know the gender of a

noun simply by looking at the end of the word. For example, a word that ends in –eur is usually Masculine; whereas a word that ends in –rice is usually Feminine. However, there are exceptions. For example, the word “couleur” in French ends in –eur, but is a Feminine word.

One should therefore MEMORIZE if a word is Masculine or Feminine.

Indefinite Articles

When given a vocabulary word in French, the word will be preceded by an article, usually an “indefinite article”.

Indefinite Articles are words such as “a”, “an”, or “some” which simply state that the object is “an” object or “a” thing” or “some” things.

In French, Indefinite Articles also indicate the GENDER of the noun.

Indefinite ArticlesThere are three (3) Indefinite Articles in French:un meaning: a, an, one

use: identifies something that is masculine, singular

une meaning: a, an, oneuse: identifies something that is

feminine, singular

des meaning: someuse: identifies plural objects, no

matter if they are feminine or masculine

NoteWhen we are identifying an object, therefore,

we cannot simply say: “This is a pencil” the way we do in English.

We have to choose WHICH word we will use to say “a” or “an” or “one”.

Is the pencil a masculine object or a feminine object? In French, it is masculine. We would therefore have to use the word “un”. The word eraser, however, is feminine. So if we were to say “This is an eraser”, we would have to use the word “une”.

Key Words

Each word in French has a particular meaning in English which must be MEMORIZED.

que* = what / that ce* = this/that/it/these/thoseest = is

sont = are*before a vowel or an H, replace the “e” with an apostrophe ( ‘ ) and combine the

two words into a contractionque > qu’ce > c’

Questions

We can use our key words to form a very essential question in French:

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >>

Que

Remember that “que” means either “what” or “that” and can be seen as “qu’ “.

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >>

Ce

Remember that “ce” means “it”, “this”, “that”, “these”, or “those” and can be seen as “c’ “.

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >>

Est

Remember that “est” means “is”.

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >>

Translation

When we define each individual word within the expression, the most logical translation can be seen as follows:

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >> What is it what it is That this that this

that that these these those those

Literal Translation

Remember that French is a very formal language. In order to find equivalent phrases in English, we must look back in time to when English was equally as formal. If you do that, you will find that French is a word-for-word translation of our older versions of English:

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >> What is it that this/that/it is?

Colloquial Translation

Using common terms, the question:

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >> What is it that this/that/it is?

can be simply stated as:

“What is it/that/this?”

Pronunciation

We have already discussed pronunciation, so let’s analyze the following question:

<< Qu’est-ce que c’est? >>“qu” – the “k” sound“est-ce” – the “ess” sound : a reversal of the normal order “c’est”“que” – the “k” sound of “qu” followed by the “euh” sound of the “e”“c’ “ – the “s” sound because the “c” is followed by an “e”, “I”, or “y”“est” – its traditional sound of “ay”

kess keuh say

Identifying a single object

In order to identify a single object, therefore, we need three basic words: “It/this/that is a…”

In French, remember that “it/this/that” is “ce”,“is” is “est”, and “a/an/one” is either “un” or

“une” depending on the gender of the noun.

It is a pencil.

Ce = it / that / this pencil: crayon (m)Est = isA = un (because pencil is masculine)

Therefore, “it is a pencil” is written in French as:“C’est un crayon.”

It is an eraser.

Ce = it / that / this eraser = gomme (f)Est = isUne = a (because eraser is feminine)

Therefore, “It is an eraser” is written in French as: “C’est une gomme.”

Identifying plural objects

In order to identify plural objects, therefore, we need three basic words: “These/those are some…”

In French, remember that “these/those” is “ce”,“are” is “sont”, and “some” is “des”.

Remember that “des” refers to all plural objects, regardless of the objects’ gender.

Understood WordsNotice that in English, we do not often say “some”.

The word “some” in English is “understood”. An “understood” word in English is a word that is “understood” and so does not have to be clearly stated. In the sentence “those are some pencils”, the word “some” is understood in English and so we simply state “those are pencils.”

In French, there are no “understood” words. It is important to use each word as it is designed to be used. We must say “those are some pencils.”

Those are pencils.

Ce = those/these pencil = crayon (m)Sont = areDes = some

Those are pencils Those are SOME pencils.

Ce sont des crayons*.*Note: We will discuss changing nouns from singular to plural in another presentation. Usually,

as in the case with pencils and erasers, it is simply necessary to add an “s” to the end of a word to make that word plural, just like in English.

Those are erasers.

Ce = those / these eraser = gomme (f)Sont = areDes = some

Those are erasers. Those are SOME erasers.

Ce sont des gommes.Note: Yes, it is easier to write plural sentences than singular ones for this simple reason: you use

“des” for both masculine or feminine in the plural, whereas in the singular, you have to decide whether to use “un” or “une”.