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Year 8

Jobs: feminine nouns

Learning outcomes

I can make person nouns feminine to talk about different jobs.

I can apply the silent [h] rule when I pronounce French words, including cognates.

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New
New
Year 8

Jobs: feminine nouns

Learning outcomes

I can make person nouns feminine to talk about different jobs.

I can apply the silent [h] rule when I pronounce French words, including cognates.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

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

Keywords

  • [h] - pronounced as in 'heure'

  • Person noun - a noun used for a person e.g. un professeur

Common misconception

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

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.


To help you plan your year 8 french lesson on: Jobs: feminine nouns, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

There is scope for a much wider discussion around feminine job titles in France. You may wish to find some articles to share with your class.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the French words below to the correct English translation,
Correct Answer:être,to be, being
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to be, being

Correct Answer:je suis,I am
tick

I am

Correct Answer:tu es,you are
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you are

Correct Answer:il est,he is
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he is

Correct Answer:elle est,she is
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she is

Q2.
Which is the best translation for 'je veux' ?
Correct answer: I want
He wants
I go
He goes
Q3.
Nouns in French are either masculine or ...
Correct Answer: feminine
Q4.
Match the French words below to the correct English translations.
Correct Answer:devoir,to have to
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to have to

Correct Answer:dormir,to sleep, sleeping
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to sleep, sleeping

Correct Answer:vouloir,to want (to)
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to want (to)

Correct Answer:factrice,postwoman
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postwoman

Correct Answer:directrice,headteacher
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headteacher

Correct Answer:avocate,lawyer
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lawyer

Q5.
What is the word for the rise and fall of the voice when speaking?
Correct Answer: intonation
Q6.
What letter do feminine adjectives often end in?
Correct Answer: e

6 Questions

Q1.
Which sound-symbol correspondences are contained in the word 'hélicoptère'?
[ain]
Correct answer: [h]
Correct answer: silent -e
Correct answer: [è/ê]
[on]
Q2.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:devoir,to have to
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to have to

Correct Answer:je dois,I have to, must
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I have to, must

Correct Answer:il doit,he has to, must
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he has to, must

Correct Answer:vouloir,to want (to)
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to want (to)

Correct Answer:je veux,I want (to)
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I want (to)

Correct Answer:il veut,he wants (to)
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he wants (to)

Q3.
Who is the sentence about '__________ secrétaire travaille dans le bureau.'?
man
woman
Correct answer: could be either
Q4.
Order the French for the sentence 'Léa wants to be a teacher but Sophie wants to be a headteacher.'
1 - Léa
2 - veut être
3 - professeure
4 - mais Sophie
5 - veut
6 - être
7 - directrice
Q5.
Add the missing word. Person nouns ending in 'eur' usually change to in the feminine form.
Correct Answer: rice, 'rice'
Q6.
Add the missing word to the sentence 'The lawyer is careful'. L' est prudente.
Correct Answer: avocate

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