"He lives in a village."

Translation: Il vit dans un village.

[Qiset1]

Can anyone tell me how to determine if a noun is femal or male? I know a lot of female nouns end in the letter e but there are at least two that don't "village" and "verre".

[CommeuneTexane]

There isn't a surefire way of determining whether a noun is feminine or masculine; your best bet is to memorize the singular indefinite article (un or une) that accompanies the noun. Just think of it as a part of the word.

That said, there are certain endings that are typically masculine and others that are typically feminine. Here is an excellent post, Duolingo: Noun genders in french

[LindaFowler0]

Whag is the difference between "vivre" (duolingo uses), "habiter", and "demeurer" (taught at school 60 years ago)

[CommeuneTexane]

Vivre and habiter can often be used interchangeably, with the exception being that animals can "vivent" in a certain location, but only people "habite" in a location.

Demeurer most commonly means "to stay" or "to remain," in the both the figurative and literal sense.

Edited to add: "Demeurer" can also mean to dwell, so that could also be a possibility.

[LindaFowler0]

Great explanation! Thankyou

[CommeuneTexane]

You are welcome!