As someone who knows French--and is obsessed with grammar--I find it particularly disturbing when I see words borrowed from French that are spelled incorrectly. In order to remedy the situation, I shall offer a series of corrective lessons as a sort of public service announcement.
Our first topic?
Disparities between the masculine and feminine forms of words ending in é, most notably the word fiancé and the name Renée.
The rule is quite simple:
In order to make a word ending in é feminine, add an extra e to the end.
Therefore, fiancé (masculine) becomes fiancée (feminine).
The same rule applies, consequently, to the name René; French for "reborn." René (masculine) becomes Renée (feminine).
Please note that the accent remains over the first e in all cases.
Naming your daughter Reneé, Réneé, Rénéé, or any other variant besides Renée makes France cry.
No, I lied. Crying isn't a very French thing to do. Misspelling Renée makes France stick up her nose and scoff at your ignorance.
You don't want to be scoffed at, do you?
You have now been educated. Spread your knowledge.
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2 comments:
I fart in your general direction...
that fiancee/fiance thing is something i've always wondered about!
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