Video lesson
Personnes: Counting People in French
gens vs personnes · counting people · negation
Gens or personnes? The rule the clip teaches: as soon as you COUNT, French switches to personnes . A tiny distinction that instantly sounds native.
🎬 About this episode
Gens or personnes? The rule the clip teaches: as soon as you COUNT, French switches to personnes. A tiny distinction that instantly sounds native.
🔊 Key phrases for this topic
Il y a beaucoup de gens.There are lots of people.
Nous sommes quatre personnes.We are four people.
Une table pour six personnes.A table for six people.
Les gens sont sympas ici.People are nice here.
Combien de personnes ?How many people?
🔑 The language point
- gens = people in general (never counted); personnes = people with a NUMBER.
- personne is feminine even for men: une personne intéressante.
- Watch the trap: « personne » alone with ne = NOBODY (ne…personne) — see the negation chart.
Play the Quiztap to start · quick practice from this material
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