French language Q&A Forum

I have been given that words ending in "ion" were female with the exception of "Bastion". Is this another exception ?  Should it be Sa opinion or sa opinion, or is it that the word begins with a vowel ?

I've been told by a well-trained French teacher to never begin a sentence with "cependant." He said to use "bien que." Has this rule been superseded? 

Thanks!

Kalpana

Bonjour à tous,

pourriez vous m'expliquer la différence entre ces 2 phrases ? (pourquoi on réutilise «de» dans la première et non dans la deuxième)

1-Cherchez bien sur Internet avant d'*acheter ou de* réserver vos vacances.

2-Ce cours est composé d'*une ou plusieurs activités.

merci beaucoup 

Is "avoir un bec sucré" too much of an anglisism ?

Could you explain the difference between 'crayon', 'crayon à papier' and 'crayon gris'?  I do not draw, so I was unfamiliar with the latter two.  Are the latter two used primarily in the context of art?