Question 1

Why does the adjective gentille have two Ls?

Accepted Answer

Just like adjectives that end in -en or -on double their final consonant in the feminine form (like mignon to mignonne), some adjectives ending in -l do the same thing. Because femme is a feminine noun, the masculine adjective gentil doubles its final -l and adds an -e to become gentille.

Question 2

How do you pronounce gentille compared to the masculine form?

Accepted Answer

The -ille ending in gentille makes a "y" sound, similar to the "y" in the English word "yes". The masculine form gentil has a completely silent L at the end. So gentil sounds a bit like "zhon-tee", but gentille sounds like "zhon-teey".

Question 3

Why do we use cette instead of ce for "this"?

Accepted Answer

Cette is the feminine singular word for "this" or "that". Since femme is a feminine noun, we must use cette. As a quick refresher, you use ce for masculine nouns, like ce garçon (this boy), or cet for masculine nouns starting with a vowel, like cet homme (this man).

Question 4

Why does the word femme sound like it is spelled with an "a"?

Accepted Answer

This is a famous exception in French pronunciation! The first E in femme is actually pronounced like a short "a" sound (similar to the "a" in "father"). It is just a quirky historical spelling rule that learners have to memorize early on.

Cette femme est très gentille.

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