Gender

Gender is an often misunderstood concept in language-learning. Since the advent of the "Gender Studies" curricula at many universities, an association between sex and gender has extended beyond those classrooms into the language classroom. I cannot say emphatically enough that the term "gender" has very little to do with sex in terms of the French language. I will elaborate on this point more a little later in this document, but for now, try to envision that 'gender' in terms of language-learning has almost nothing to do with sex. Many feminists may argue that point from a linguistic history standpoint, but in terms of acquiring language skills, gender is purely a characteric of a noun.

What is gender?

As stated above, in terms of the French language, 'gender' is a characteristic of a noun. That means that each noun in the French language has a gender associated with it. It is part of that word's identity. In French, there are two genders--masculine and feminine. Each noun in the French language is either masculine or feminine. A word's masculinity or femininity has nothing to do with its 'maleness' or 'femaleness', but is associated with how the word is spelled, how it sounds, its etymological development and other factors. Try not to get confused thinking that because an object is associated with males that it is masculine or vice versa.

How do I know whether a word is masculine or feminine?

Knowing whether a word is masculine or feminine is largely an exercise in practice. There are some good clues and rules of thumb that can assist you when trying to figure out whether a word is masculine or feminine. Keep in mind that the only way to know for certain is to study each individual word. Eventually, you will notice patterns on your own. If you aren't sure, consult a dictionary.

Clues to feminine words

For example, the following word endings generally mean that a word is feminine. Remember that there are exceptions to every rule:

• ité--une verité, une cité
• eur--la pudeur, la rigueur
• tion--une section, une régulation
  Note: all words ending in tion are feminine except bastion which is masculine.

Clues to masculine words

The only hard and fast rule I know for determining that a word is masculine is if it ends in ment. There may be other rules, so consult your nearest available French instructor.

• ment--un bâtiment, un arrondissement

Implications of gender

Gender is a vital component of a noun because all modifiers must agree in gender with the noun. This means that adjectives and sometimes past participles must change depending on whether a noun is masculine or feminine. Luckily, most adjectives follow patterns and rules of masculinity or femininity. The subject of adjectives will be covered in a separate document, but here are a couple of examples:

• un animal gris = a gray animal ('animal' is masculine)
• une voiture grise = a gray car ('voiture' is feminine, therefore an 'e' is added to make 'gris' agree with the gender of 'voiture')
• un jour nuageux = a cloudy day ('day' here is masculine)
• une nuit nuageuse = a cloudy night ('night' is feminine and hence the adjective ending must change)
• une chemise orange = an orange shirt ('chemise' is feminine)
• un pantelon orange = an orange pair of pants ('pants' is masculine singular)
  Notice here that the adjective form does not change between masculine and feminine.

It is also important to note that the word for 'a' (un or une) also changes depending on the gender of a noun. For more information on this, please consult the document on articles.

The topic of past participles and gender is too vast to cover in this document, but keep in mind that there are several situations in which a past participle must agree in gender with either the subject or object of a sentence or clause. This is yet another reason why gender is an important component of a noun.

Please refer any questions or comments to sohlhaut@nlci.com
Last revised 2 April 2000.