Secondary II • 3mo.
how can i know a French noun is countable or uncountable? the French dictionary doesn't show the property.
many nouns i can guess. but not every one. for example, i guess "dessert" is uncountable but countable.
Explanation from Alloprof
This Explanation was submitted by a member of the Alloprof team.
Hello NaiveApple! :)
Once again, it's a really good question! :)
Nouns are countable when they can be quantified. They are then used with a numeral determiner.
Ex. : «chat» (cat), «livre» (book), «voiture» (car), «amis» (friends).
Uncountable nouns possess the uncountable trait when they are not quantifiable.
Ex. : «eau» (water), «temps» (time/weather), «argent» (money), «musique» (music).
Some nouns can have either the countable or uncountable trait depending on the context in which they are used. To check if a noun is countable or uncountable, one must verify if it can be accompanied by a numeral determiner or a partitive determiner.
Ex. :
**Our factsheet on the partitive determiner is currently only available in French. However, we are working very hard to make it available in English very soon!
I hope this information helps clarify things for you. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions! :)
Marilee