Forming Feminine Nouns
Learn Forming Feminine Nouns for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Feminine forms are usually made by adding -e, or by changing endings such as -eur to -rice or -euse.
Free downloads
These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.
Topic overview
Many French nouns describing people have a masculine and a feminine form, and the feminine is usually made by changing the ending.
The basic rule is to add -e: un ami becomes une amie, un étudiant becomes une étudiante. Adding the -e often changes the pronunciation too, because a final consonant that was silent now gets sounded — étudiant ends in a nasal sound, étudiante ends in a clear t.
Some endings change more substantially. Nouns ending in -eur often become -euse, so un vendeur becomes une vendeuse. Nouns ending in -teur often become -trice, giving un acteur and une actrice. And some double the final consonant before adding -e, so un lycéen becomes une lycéenne.
Revision notes
The basic rule
Add -e to the masculine form: un ami becomes une amie.
Un étudiant becomes une étudiante, un Français becomes une Française. If the masculine already ends in -e, it usually does not change: un élève, une élève.
Pronunciation changes
Adding -e makes a silent final consonant sound.
Étudiant ends in a nasal vowel with no t sound; étudiante ends in a clear t. This is often the only way to hear the difference in speech, so it matters for listening as well as writing.
Endings that change more
-eur becomes -euse: un vendeur, une vendeuse. -teur becomes -trice: un acteur, une actrice.
Some double the consonant: un lycéen becomes une lycéenne. Learn these patterns as groups rather than word by word.
Key points
- Most feminine forms add -e.
- Un ami becomes une amie.
- Adding -e sounds a silent consonant.
- -eur usually becomes -euse.
- -teur usually becomes -trice.
- Some forms double the final consonant.
Worked examples
Example 1
Give the feminine form of un étudiant. [2 marks]
Working
Example 2
Give the feminine form of un vendeur. [2 marks]
Working
Example 3
Explain how adding -e changes the pronunciation of étudiant. [2 marks]
Working
Common mistakes
Forgetting to change the article as well.
Un becomes une when the noun becomes feminine.
Adding -e to words already ending in -e.
Un élève stays une élève.
Using -eure instead of -euse.
The standard pattern is -eur to -euse.
Ignoring the pronunciation change.
The sounded consonant is often the only audible difference.
Exam tips
- Change the article as well as the noun.
- Learn -eur/-euse and -teur/-trice as pairs.
- Listen for the sounded final consonant.
- Check whether the word already ends in -e.
Key terms
- Feminine form
- The version of a noun used for a female person.
- Silent consonant
- A final letter not pronounced in the masculine.
- Article
- Le, la, un or une, which must match the gender.
- Pattern
- A regular ending change such as -eur to -euse.
Related topics
Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.