Nouns

Nouns in French can be masculines or feminines, as shown in the table below:

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe people and things. For example, adjectives can describe nationality, personality, physical appearance and age. In French, you should use different form of adjectives when talking about a man, woman or group of people, as shown in the examples below.

a) Singular

In general, add an e to the masculine adjective to get the feminine form. When the masculine adjective already ends in -e, there is no change to form the feminine.

b) Plural

To form most plurals, add s to the masculine or feminine form. However, when the masculine singular adjective ends in -s, there is no change in the masculine plural form. If any people being described is a male, the masculine form should be used.

Verbs

Most verb tenses are invariable with gender. However, in the Passé Composé, when using the auxiliar verb être, the participe passé should agree with gender and number.

Examples:

Jean est tombé. (Jean felt.)

Marie a entendu la classe. (Marie understood the class) -- avoir invariable!

Marie est restée chez elle. (Marie stayed at home).

Jean et Marie sont arrivés a la fête. (Jean and Marie arrived at the party).

Clara et Paula sont arrivées aussi. (Clara and Paula arrived too).