Is « principal » masculine or feminine?
« principal » is masculine. You say le principal.
Article forms
| With the definite article | le principal |
| With the indefinite article | un principal |
| With the partitive article | du principal |
Plural
The plural is principaux (les principaux). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
principal ends in
-al. Nouns ending in
-al are usually masculine,
so principal follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
C'est le principal.
That's the main thing. -
Il doit être le principal.
He must be the principal. -
Le principal l'a remarqué.
The principal noticed that.
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 « principal » masculine or feminine?
« principal » is masculine. You say le principal.
Is it « la principal » or « le principal »?
It is « le principal ». « la principal » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.