«Sylvie parle à son amie.» Is Sylvie's friend a man or a woman?

Question

Above is the referenced quiz question, to which I answered 'you cannot say'. However, the results indicate correct answer is 'a woman'. This is incorrect. Since "ami" start with a voul, you must use "son" whether the subject is masculine or feminine, therefor, you cannot tell is Sylvie's friend is a man or a woman.

Accepted Answer

Hi Thomas, 
You were given 'son amie' so we know that the final -e ( mark of a feminine noun) indicates a woman.
Bonne Continuation !

Answer

Thomas, you are right about the need to use ‘son’ as the possessive whether the friend is male or female. However, the ‘e’ on the end of “amie” confirms it is a female friend, as that is the feminine spelling of the noun.

When mon, ton, son are used before nouns commencing with vowels, the spelling of the noun always remains appropriate to the gender (of the noun).

In speech, the phrases will sound the same but context will inform. In writing the spelling is a giveaway, even if no context is provided.

Worth looking through the lesson again, as this is an important point of the lesson and of French grammar.

Answer

Sylvie parle à son amie Marie. -- Sylvie is talking to her friend Marie.Sylvie parle à son ami Hugo. -- Sylvie is talking to her friend Hugo.

Answer

Cécile ‘amie’ is a noun in this lesson and presumably the sentence referenced. You have written ‘adjective’ in your answer.

Answer

Thank you all for your response. I focused on "son", and this is what the lesson the quiz takes you to discusses. I completely missed the "e" at the end of "ami".