Is « obligation » masculine or feminine?
« obligation » is feminine. You say l'obligation.
Article forms
| With the definite article | l'obligation |
| With the indefinite article | une obligation |
| With the partitive article | de l'obligation |
Plural
The plural is obligations (les obligations). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
obligation ends in
-tion. Nouns ending in
-tion are usually feminine,
so obligation follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
J'ai une obligation antérieure.
I have a prior engagement. -
Ce n'est pas une obligation légale.
It's not legally binding. -
Nous avons l'obligation d'essayer.
We have an obligation to try.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Related words
Other common nouns that end the same way:
Common questions
Is « obligation » masculine or feminine?
« obligation » is feminine. You say l'obligation.
« l'obligation » hides the gender. Is « obligation » masculine or feminine?
It is feminine. The article shortens to « l'obligation » for both genders, but you say une obligation, not un obligation, and adjectives take the feminine form.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.