Number - Gender and number - Speed Up Your French: Strategies to avoid common errors (2016)

Speed Up Your French: Strategies to avoid common errors (2016)

Chapter 1. Gender and number

Number

The plural of nouns

In spoken French, there is often no audible distinction between the singular and plural forms of a noun. It is usually only the determiner (the article or the demonstrative or possessive adjective, etc.) that serves as a plural marker in the spoken language.

However, in written French, many nouns do carry a plural marker, and you must take care to remember this.

1 Regular plurals

The plural of most nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular form. This applies to both masculine and feminine nouns, for example:

un enfant

des enfants

(child / children)

un regard

des regards

(look / looks)

une loi

des lois

(law / laws)

une maison

des maisons

(house / houses)

2 Nouns ending in -s, -x, -z

There is no change in the plural, for example:

un cas

des cas

(case / cases)

une voix

des voix

(voice / voices)

un nez

des nez

(nose / noses)

3 Nouns ending in -au, -eau, -eu, -œu

The plural is formed by adding -x, for example:

un tuyau

des tuyaux

(pipe / pipes)

un bateau

des bateaux

(boat / boats)

un cheveu

des cheveux

(hair / hairs)

un vœu

des vœux

(wish / wishes)

Exceptions in -s:

un bleu

des bleus

(bruise / bruises)

un pneu

des pneus

(tyre / tyres)

4 Nouns ending in -ou

In most cases, the plural is formed by adding -s, for example:

un trou

des trous

(hole / holes)

un voyou

des voyous

(yob / yobs)

However, there are seven exceptions that form the plural with -x. These are:

un bijou

des bijoux

(jewel / jewels)

un caillou

des cailloux

(pebble / pebbles)

un chou

des choux

(cabbage / cabbages)

un genou

des genoux

(knee / knees)

un hibou

des hiboux

(owl / owls)

un joujou

des joujoux

(toy / toys)

un pou

des poux

(louse / lice)

5 Nouns ending in -al

Most nouns ending in -al change to -aux in the plural, for example:

un cheval

des chevaux

(horse / horses)

un idéal

des idéaux

(ideal / ideals)

le mal

les maux

(evil / evils; ache / aches)

Exceptions in -s:

un bal

des bals

(dance / dances)

un carnaval

des carnavals

(carnival / carnivals)

un festival

des festivals

(festival / festivals)

un récital

des récitals

(recital / recitals)

un régal

des régals

(culinary or other delight / delights)

6 Nouns ending in -ail

Most nouns form the plural in the regular way by adding -s, for example:

un détail

des détails

(detail / details)

Exceptions in -aux:

un bail

des baux

(lease / leases)

un corail

des coraux

(coral / corals)

un émail

des émaux

(enamel / enamels)

un travail

des travaux

(work / works)

un vitrail

des vitraux

(stained glass window / windows)

7 Nouns with irregular plurals

The most common are:

un ciel

des cieux

(sky / skies, heavens)

un œil

des yeux

(eye / eyes)

Monsieur

Messieurs

Madame

Mesdames

Mademoiselle

Mesdemoiselles

The regular form, les ciels, is used for ‘skies’ in climates and in paintings, e.g. les ciels d’Afrique, les ciels de Constable.

Note also the following irregularities in the spoken language.

The final consonant of un os (a bone), un bœuf (a bullock), un œuf (an egg) is pronounced in the singular, but the ending of the plural forms, des os, des bœufs, des œufs, is completely silent.

8 Nouns that have only a plural form in French include the following:

les abats (m.)

offal; giblets

les affres (f.)

agonies; pangs (of hunger)

les alentours (m.)

surrounding area

les annales (f.)

annals

les archives (f.)

archives

les arrhes (f.)

deposit (e.g. on a flat)

les bestiaux (m.)

livestock

les ciseaux (m.)

scissors

les condoléances (f.)

condolences

les entrailles (f.)

entrails

les environs (m.)

surroundings

les félicitations (f.)

congratulations

les fiançailles (f.)

engagement

les frais (m.)

expenses

les fringues (f.) (colloquial)

clothes

les funérailles (f.)

funeral

les gens (m. normally)

people

les graffiti (m. invariable)

graffiti

les honoraires (m.)

fees

les intempéries (f.)

bad weather

les mœurs (f.)

customs

les pourparlers (m.)

talks

les obsèques (f.)

funeral

les spaghetti (m. invariable)

spaghetti

les ténèbres (f.)

darkness

les vêpres (f.)

vespers

les victuailles (f.)

victuals

les vivres (m.)

food, supplies

The corresponding noun in English is sometimes singular, e.g. verser des arrhes (to put down a deposit).

The plural of compound nouns

The rules for the formation of the plural are quite complex, but it helps to divide the nouns into categories as follows.

1 In adjective + noun (or noun + adjective) compounds, both elements become plural.

une belle-fille

des belles-filles

un cerf-volant

des cerfs-volants

2 In noun + noun compounds, the usual pattern is for both nouns to become plural.

un camion-citerne

des camions-citernes

une pause-café

des pauses-cafés

Exceptions with only one noun becoming plural

une auto-école

des auto-écoles

(a driving school / driving schools)

un hôtel-Dieu

des hôtels-Dieu

(a main hospital / main hospitals)

un timbre-poste

des timbres-poste

(a postage stamp / postage stamps)

3 In noun + prepositional phrase compounds, only the first noun becomes plural.

un arc-en-ciel

des arcs-en-ciel

un chef-d’œuvre

des chefs-d’œuvre

Exceptions with no change in the plural

un tête-à-queue

des tête-à-queue

un tête-à-tête

des tête-à-tête

4 In adverb, preposition or prefix + noun compounds, the noun alone becomes plural.

un demi-tarif

des demi-tarifs

une ex-femme

des ex-femmes

Exception with no change in the plural

un / une sans-travail

des sans-travail

5 In verb + noun compounds, the golden rule is not to add a plural -s on the verb. For the noun, there are two general patterns, though in practice there is so much fluctuation that the only safe way of proceeding is to consult a good dictionary.

a. The compound remains invariable whether the singular form contains a noun in the singular or the plural.

un gratte-ciel

des gratte-ciel

un essuie-mains

des essuie-mains

un pare-brise

des pare-brise

b. The noun becomes plural.

un tire-bouchon

des tire-bouchons

un couvre-lit

des couvre-lits

There are a few cases where, despite the golden rule given above, there is an -s on the verbal element of the compound and not on the noun. However, in these cases the verbal element is no longer related to any existing verbal form, as the following examples show. The third-person singular present tense indicative form of the verbs in question would be appuie and soutient.

un appui-tête

des appuis-tête

(headrests)

un soutien-gorge

des soutiens-gorge

(bras)

6 Verbal phrase compounds are usually invariable in the plural.

un on-dit

des on-dit

un faire-part

des faire-part

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Exercises

EXERCISE 5. Write the plural of the following nouns.

1

le chapeau

_____________

2

le mois

_____________

3

le travail

_____________

4

le pneu

_____________

5

un chou

_____________

6

un mal de tête

_____________

7

un œil

_____________

8

Monsieur

_____________

9

un bal

_____________

10

un bail

_____________

11

un vœu

_____________

12

un trou

_____________

13

un ciel de Turner

_____________

14

un cheval

_____________

15

un cheveu

_____________

EXERCISE 6. Indicate the gender of the following compound nouns (un / une) and then write their plural forms.

1

___ timbre-poste

des _____________

2

___ pause-café

des _____________

3

___ chef-d’œuvre

des _____________

4

___ tête-à-tête

des _____________

5

___ demi-heure

des _____________

6

___ pare-brise

des _____________

7

___ soutien-gorge

des _____________

8

___ tire-bouchon

des _____________

9

___ faire-part

des _____________

10

___ grand-parent

des _____________

Differences between French and English in the treatment of the plural

1 Some nouns that are singular in English are plural in French and vice versa. The following examples are a common source of difficulty for English speakers.

English singular

French plural

applause

les applaudissements (m.)

holiday, vacation

les vacances (f.)

hair

les cheveux (m.)

information (m.)

les informations (f.), les renseignements

knowledge

les connaissances (f.)

news (on radio, TV)

les informations (f.)

to make progress

faire des progrès (m.)

to do research / my research

faire des recherches (f.) / mes recherches

Note that un cheveu is a single strand of hair and un renseignement or une information is a single item of information or news.

English plural

French singular

economics

l’économie (f.)

grapes

du raisin

linguistics

la linguistique

physics

la physique

pyjamas

un pyjama

shorts

un short

stairs

un escalier

tights

un collant

trousers

un pantalon

underpants

un slip

Note that a single grape in French is un grain de raisin.

Remember that the singular form is used in French for a single pair of pyjamas, shorts, tights or trousers. If you used the plural, it would mean several pairs, e.g.

Je dois m’acheter des pantalons d’été.

(I must buy some pairs of summer trousers.)

2 When referring to a family, the plural article is used, but the name itself does not change. Avoid the common mistake of adding a plural -s as we would do in English.

Nous avons invité les Dupont à dîner samedi.

(We have invited the Duponts to dinner on Saturday.)

3 Collective nouns referring to groups of people or things are singular in form. Common examples include the following:

l’assistance (f.)

audience

le comité

committee

le conseil

council

l’équipe (f.)

team

la foule

crowd

le gouvernement (m.)

government

le peuple (m.)

people

la police

police

Such nouns take a singular verb in French. Note the contrast to English where the verb can be singular or plural.

Le gouvernement ne sait pas quelle politique adopter.

(The government does not / do not know what policy to adopt.)

Le comité va se réunir demain.

(The committee is / are going to meet tomorrow.)

4 If the collective noun is followed by de + a plural noun, the verb can be either singular or plural, but is more usually plural.

Un groupe d’étudiants faisait / faisaient la queue devant le bâtiment d’administration.

(A group of students was / were queuing outside the administration building.)

5 The collective phrase, tout le monde (everyone / everybody), must always be followed by a singular verb in French, as in English.

Tout le monde le sait.

(Everyone knows.)

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Exercises

EXERCISE 7. Choose between the singular and plural alternatives given in brackets to complete the following sentences.

1 Il a fait (du progrès / des progrès) en (linguistique / linguistiques) cette année.

2 Elle fait (de la recherche / des recherches) sur le cancer.

3 Prenez (du raisin / des raisins) pour manger avec le fromage.

4 Nous allons partir en (vacance / vacances) demain.

5 L’enfant a déchiré (son pantalon / ses pantalons) en tombant dans (l’escalier / les escaliers).

6 Elle possède (une connaissance approfondie / des connaissances approfondies) en (physique / physiques).

7 Il a quitté la salle sous un tonnerre d’(applaudissement / applaudissements).

8 Les (Pléchot / Pléchots) habitent la maison d’en face.

9 La police (arrive / arrivent). Tout le monde (est / sont) au courant.

10 Nous regardons (l’information / les informations) de 20 heures à la télévision.

The agreement of adjectives: common problems

Adjectives must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun or pronoun that they qualify. Many of these agreements, particularly the plural forms, are inaudible in the spoken language, but you must take care to make them when writing French.

1 The first step is to check the gender of the noun, hence the importance of the first part of this chapter! The next step, if you are unsure, is to revise the formation of the feminine and the plural of adjectives in one of the reference grammars listed in the Bibliography. There is space to mention only one important irregularity here.

The masculine plural of tout is tous. The feminine plural, toutes, is regular.

2 Watch out for examples where the adjective does not stand immediately next to the noun, but is separated from it by a verb, such as être or devenir, and remember to make the necessary agreement, for example:

Tous les musées sont fermés.

(All the museums are closed.)

La concurrence est devenue acharnée.

(The competition has become cut-throat.)

3 When an adjective qualifies two or more nouns of different genders, the adjective is masculine plural, e.g.

un père et une mère indulgents (an indulgent father and mother)

4 With expressions of the type, l’un des jardins les plus célèbres du monde (one of the most famous gardens in the world), the adjective describes all the gardens, not just the particular one in question, and so it is plural.

5 When a noun is accompanied by a phrase, de + noun, and further qualified by an adjective, the adjective agrees with the noun that it actually qualifies, which is not necessarily the noun immediately next to it. In the following example, it agrees with the masculine noun, point.

Du point (m.) de vue (f.) médical, il n’y a pas de problème

(From a medical point of view, there is no problem.)

6 If an adjective appears at the beginning of the clause, remember to think ahead and make it agree with the noun that it qualifies, for example:

Haute de 112 mètres, la flèche de la cathédrale d’Amiens domine la ligne des toits.

(At 112 metres high, the spire of Amiens cathedral dominates the skyline.)

7 Take particular care with the word, même. If it is used as an adjective, meaning ‘same’ or ‘very’, it agrees with the noun, but if it is used as an adverb, meaning ‘even’, it is invariable.

Cette étudiante a fait les mêmes erreurs que son frère.

(This student made the same mistakes as her brother.)

Ce sont les termes mêmes que j’ai employés.

(Those are the very / exact words that I used.)

Même les Français font parfois des erreurs d’accord.

(Even the French sometimes make agreement mistakes.)

8 Finally, remember that all adverbs are invariable, so never put a plural -s on beaucoup or ensemble.

Ils sont partis tous ensemble.

(They all left together.)

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Exercises

EXERCISE 8. Make the words shown in brackets agree as and when necessary.

1 Les vacances (scolaire) me semblent trop (long).

2 (Tout) les places de stationnement sont déjà (occupé).

3 Ce sont les lieux (même) de l’accident.

4 (Même) si elle a des goûts (douteux), elle sait ce qu’elle veut.

5 Les renseignements (fourni) dans la brochure sont (inexact).

6 (Tout) les gens (interviewé) sont du (même) avis.

7 Ce musée est sans (aucun) doute l’un des plus (important) du monde.

8 (Seul), elle ne viendra jamais à bout de cette tâche.

9 Cet enfant souffre de maux de tête (continuel). Son frère et sa sœur (aîné), par contre, sont en (plein) forme.

10 Les garçons et les filles jouent (ensemble) dans la cour.

EXERCISE 9. Fill in the blanks, paying particular attention to the gender and number of nouns, to the agreement of verbs with their subject (singular / plural), and to any necessary adjective agreements.

Sandrine vient d’être nommée (1) _________ (language teaching assistant) à l’université d’Aberdeen. En ce moment elle fait (2) _______________ (some research) sur Internet pour trouver (3) _______________ (information) sur la ville et sur (4) _____________ (the region). Elle sait déjà que (5) ________________ (the surrounding area) de la ville (6) __________ (is) très (7) _________________ (picturesque) et que la ville elle-même est (8) __________ (a centre) de (9) ____________________ (the oil industry). Ce qu’elle ne savait pas, cependant, c’est que (10) _____________ (accommodation) coûte très cher. Il est évident qu’(11) ____________ (a studio flat) près (12) _______________ (to the town centre) sera au-dessus de ses moyens. Il lui faudra donc partager (13) ___________________ (a flat) avec d’autres étudiants et (14) ______________ (the choice) est déjà très (15) ___________ (limited), à (16) _____________ (this stage). Pour résoudre (17) ____________ (the problem), elle décide de partir tout de suite en Écosse. On lui a déjà payé (18) _____________ (an advance) sur (19) _____________ (her salary), pour qu’elle puisse (20) ________________ (put down a deposit) sur une chambre.