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Year 8 - French

Jobs: feminine nouns

Jobs: 'avoir' and 'être', feminine nouns

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils revisit 'être', 'avoir', intonation and inversion questions. The question structure 'est-ce que' is introduced. Feminine adjective agreement and feminine noun formation rules are extended. Liaison with 'h' and stress syllabification are introduced, and s-liaison revisited.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to make person nouns feminine to talk about different jobs.

Key Notes

  • [h] is silent in French, as in the word 'heure'.
  • Most French person nouns for jobs become feminine by adding -e, e.g. une avocate.
  • Person nouns already ending in -e stay the same, but the article changes, e.g. le → la secrétaire.
  • Masculine person nouns ending in -eur typically change to -rice in the feminine form.
  • The rules around job nouns are still changing and there are exceptions to the rules.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [h]: pronounced as in 'heure'
  • person noun: a noun used for a person e.g. un professeur

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Add an -e to all person nouns to make them feminine.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

[h] is silent in French, as in the word 'heure'. Most French person nouns for jobs become feminine by adding -e, e.g. une avocate.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[h]'

pronounced as in 'heure'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Add an -e to all person nouns to make them feminine. Correction: The most common way to make a person noun feminine is to add an -e to the masculine version. If nouns already end in -e, person nouns usually stay the same but the article changes. Jobs ending in 'eur' usually change to 'rice' in the feminine form.

More Lessons In This Unit

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