Nouns and adjectives (AQA GCSE French): Revision Notes
French nouns and adjectives
Learning French vocabulary is essential for building your language skills. This revision note focuses on common nouns and adjectives that you'll encounter frequently in your GCSE studies. Understanding gender markers and how adjectives agree with nouns will help you construct accurate sentences.
Understanding gender in French
French nouns have gender - they are either masculine (m) or feminine (f). This is crucial because adjectives must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. When you learn a new noun, always learn it with its gender marker.
Critical Rule: Every French noun has a gender that MUST be memorised along with the word itself. There are very few reliable rules for predicting gender, so always learn: le/un + masculine noun or la/une + feminine noun.
Memory Tip: Create mental associations or use color-coding when studying - for example, always write masculine nouns in blue and feminine nouns in pink in your notes.
Essential vocabulary table
The following tables contain high-frequency vocabulary that appears regularly in GCSE French exams. Focus on memorising both the meaning and gender of each noun.
Common nouns
| French | Gender | English |
|---|---|---|
| absence | (f) | absence |
| attitude | (f) | attitude |
| bonheur | (m) | happiness |
| centaine | (f) | hundred |
| chercheur | (m) | researcher |
| chiffre | (m) | figure, number |
| choc | (m) | shock, clash |
| compte | (m) | account, count |
| condition | (f) | condition |
| conseil | (m) | advice |
| conséquence | (f) | consequence |
| contexte | (m) | context |
| contrôle | (m) | test, check, inspection |
| coût | (m) | cost |
| critique | (f) | criticism, critic |
| début | (m) | beginning |
| définition | (f) | definition |
| demande | (f) | request, demand |
| désir | (m) | desire |
| détail | (m) | detail |
| développement | (m) | development |
| direction | (f) | management |
| diversité | (f) | diversity |
| document | (m) | document |
| échec | (m) | failure |
| échelle | (f) | ladder, scale |
| économie | (f) | economy |
| ennemi | (m) | enemy |
| enquête | (f) | survey |
| époque | (f) | era, period, time |
| est | (m) | east |
| état | (m) | state |
| étoile | (f) | star |
| explication | (f) | explanation |
| fait | (m) | fact |
| honte | (f) | shame |
Common adjectives
| French | English |
|---|---|
| ancien(ne) | former, ancient |
| annuel(le) | annual |
| commun | common |
| complet/complète | full, complete |
| divers | varied, diverse |
| entier/ière | whole, full |
| étonnant | surprising, amazing |
| étroit | narrow, tight |
| exact | exact, correct |
| formidable | terrific, astounding |
| gris | grey |
| indispensable | essential |
| le/la pire | the worst |
| lourd | heavy |
| nombreux/euse | numerous |
| officiel(le) | official |
| ordinaire | ordinary |
| original | original |
| pareil(le) | the same |
| précis | precise, accurate |
| principal | main |
| raciste | racist |
| rare | rare |
| réel(le) | real |
| régulier/ière | regular |
| suffisant | sufficient |
| tranquille | quiet |
| unique | unique |
Adjective Forms: Notice how many adjectives show both masculine and feminine forms in brackets - e.g., ancien(ne) means ancien (masculine) and ancienne (feminine). This pattern is crucial for exam success.
Grammar and pronunciation tips
Understanding how French adjectives work is fundamental to accurate communication. The agreement system may seem complex at first, but with practice it becomes automatic.
Adjective Agreement Rule: French adjectives must agree with BOTH the gender AND number of the noun they describe. This means four possible forms for most adjectives:
- Masculine singular: grand
- Feminine singular: grande
- Masculine plural: grands
- Feminine plural: grandes
Worked Example: Adjective Agreement
Let's see how the adjective "grand" (tall/big) changes:
- Un homme grand (a tall man) - masculine singular
- Une femme grande (a tall woman) - feminine singular
- Des hommes grands (tall men) - masculine plural
- Des femmes grandes (tall women) - feminine plural
Step-by-step process:
- Identify the gender of the noun
- Identify if it's singular or plural
- Adjust the adjective ending accordingly
Pronunciation guide:
- Silent letters: Many French words have silent final consonants
- Liaison: When a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word starting with a vowel, the consonant is often pronounced
- Accent marks affect pronunciation: é (ay sound), è (eh sound), ê (eh sound)
Example sentences
Practice with these authentic sentence examples to see the vocabulary in context.
Worked Example: Present Tense Sentences
-
L'attitude de l'étudiant est excellente. (The student's attitude is excellent.)
- attitude (f) + excellente (feminine agreement)
-
Cette information est très importante. (This information is very important.)
- information (f) + importante (feminine agreement)
-
Le chercheur fait des découvertes formidables. (The researcher makes terrific discoveries.)
- chercheur (m), découvertes (f, plural) + formidables (plural agreement)
-
La condition de la route est dangereuse. (The condition of the road is dangerous.)
- condition (f) + dangereuse (feminine agreement)
Worked Example: Past Tense Sentences
-
J'ai eu une attitude positive hier. (I had a positive attitude yesterday.)
- Past participle eu with auxiliary avoir
-
Le développement a été rapide. (The development was rapid.)
- développement (m) + rapide (no agreement needed - same form for m/f)
-
Elle a donné un conseil utile. (She gave useful advice.)
- conseil (m) + utile (no agreement needed)
-
Nous avons vu un document officiel. (We saw an official document.)
- document (m) + officiel (masculine agreement)
Translation practice
Test your understanding with these translation exercises. Pay special attention to gender agreement and word order.
French to English
- Le début du film était très intéressant.
- Cette explication est trop compliquée pour les étudiants.
English to French
- The researcher's work is very important.
- I need precise details about this project.
Translation Strategy: When translating into French, always ask yourself:
- What is the gender of each noun?
- Do the adjectives agree properly?
- Is the word order correct? (Most French adjectives come AFTER the noun)
Answers
- The beginning of the film was very interesting.
- This explanation is too complicated for the students.
- Le travail du chercheur est très important.
- J'ai besoin de détails précis sur ce projet.
Key Points to Remember:
- French nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) - always learn them together
- Adjectives must agree with both gender and number of the nouns they describe
- Most French adjectives come after the noun, unlike in English
- Practice vocabulary regularly by creating your own sentences
- Pay attention to pronunciation patterns and silent letters to improve your speaking skills
- When in doubt about gender, check a dictionary - never guess in an exam!