Perhaps the most common and glaring mistake of English-speakers in French is the wrong noun gender. Anyone who has studied French knows that all French nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine, indicated respectively by articles un or le and une or la, as in un repas a meal, le repas the meal and une tarte a pie, la tarte the pie.

Let’s clear up right away a common misconception about this naming convention. The distinction is totally arbitrary except for certain references to living animals. There is nothing feminine about la tarte or masculine about le repas.

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