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French: help

I am learning French and is coming face to face with some problem.

Why is it
Tu n’es pas vieux
not
Tu n'es pas vieille
?

And why when people tall, sometimes we say grand, sometimes grande?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Captain Biggles

Mafer

I am learning French and is coming face to face with some problem.

Why is it
Tu n’es pas vieux
not
Tu n'es pas vieille
?

And why when people tall, sometimes we say grand, sometimes grande?

I haven't done French since Standard Grade (GCSE), but I think for the last part it's to do with whether or not the item you're describing as grand/grande is feminine or masculine. The French are weird that way... :p:

Reply 2

Anatheme

Because there is a distinction between male and female in French.

Vieux = old (male)
Vieille = old (female)

Grand = tall (male)
Grande = tall (female)

It is used to talk about persons, animals, everything actually, lol !

Reply 3

Anatheme

Captain Biggles

The French are weird that way... :p:

We're not weird, lol, we're just ... Perfectionnist :p:

Reply 4

rottcodd

grand is the masculine form, grande is the feminine. You change the spelling because the adjective has to agree with the noun that it is describing (in both gender and in number).

Likewise vielle is the feminine and vieux is the masculine.

Edit: Beaten to it. Too slow :p:

Reply 5

Captain Biggles

Anatheme

We're not weird, lol, we're just ... Perfectionnist :p:

Whatever.

Reply 6

dans

It can be either vieux/vieille, grand/grande, petit/petite, depending on whether the 'tu' is replacing a feminine or masculine noun.

You (Your dad) are little.
Tu es petit.

You (Your mum) are little.
Tu es petite.

...as the mother is feminine and the father masculine.

Reply 7

Mafer

Is it usually feminine ones always have an e behind?

Reply 8

Anatheme

Yep. This site will help you.

Reply 9

city_chic

Genders of nouns :wink:

Reply 10

Foeke

Maybe they were aiming for a fusion of 'perfectionist' and 'perfectionniste'. Tout est possible!

Reply 11

Anatheme

Why do you always put only a letter when you can put two ??? :p:

Conditional, perfectionist ...
Conditionnel, perfectionniste ! :cool:

Reply 12

city_chic

Because we're lazy?! :p:

Haha.

Reply 13

Mafer

IT is consider male right?
Because I saw C'est is follow by male adjectives...

Reply 14

Anatheme

It is consider both male and female, it depends on what/who you are talking about, and on the context of your sentence.

Reply 15

Mafer

So I must recognise everything like chairs, tables and all about male and female?

Reply 16

city_chic

^ Yep

You have to know the gender of nouns to understand which form of the adjective you use to describe it etc.

Reply 17

Foeke

If you want to use the correct pronouns and adjectives, then yes - you will need to memorise for every noun whether it is male or female.

To make things slightly easier, as far as I know all words ending in -ment (dénouement, rapprochement) are male and all words ending in -ion (organisation, union) are female.

Reply 18

jonnythemoose

city_chic

^ Yep

You have to know the gender of nouns to understand which form of the adjective you use to describe it etc.

Yeah, but if 'it' isn't referring to much at all, it's normally (if not, always) masculine, no?

e.g. C'est bon

Reply 19

city_chic

jonnythemoose

Yeah, but if 'it' isn't referring to much at all, it's normally (if not, always) masculine, no?

e.g. C'est bon

Yeah, good point.

Also, you have different forms for 'all' - tout/toute/tous/toutes. However if you want to say 'all is good' it's 'tout est bien' with the masculine form.