“Vacance” and “vacations” are two different words, which are distinguished by the absence or presence of the S. We explain how to know which one to write so as to no longer make mistakes.
The French language is full of subtleties, and it can be easy to get lost. There are so many homonyms that it is sometimes difficult to know which one to write, especially when one of them is more common than the other. This is the case with “vacances” and “vacance”, two feminine common nouns that are pronounced exactly the same way, but which have neither the same spelling nor the same meaning.
Since the word “vacation” is used much more often than its namesake, we tend to always put an S at the end, even when talking about the other. To avoid making this mistake, we need to remember their definition. The term “vacation” refers to a break, a stop, during which workers do not work, students do not go to school, etc. It is associated with the notions of relaxation, travel or adventure. The word “vacation” is used to designate the state of something that is unoccupied, empty, free, etc. It can be used to talk about vacant accommodation, a charge, a function… It can also take an S in the plural. In short, to know whether to write “vacation” or “vacations”, you need to determine which definition corresponds to your sentence. Here are some examples:
- I booked a holiday in Normandy
- This position is vacant until the arrival of the new employee: the position in question is vacant, we are talking about something unoccupied, we do not put an S.
- The courts will be on vacation from December 24 to January 2 so that magistrates can take vacations: in this sentence, the first “vacation” does not take an S because it designates the period of interruption of the functioning of the courts, while the second is written with an S, because it refers to the leave taken by employees.
- This Senate seat is vacant: the seat in question is unoccupied, we do not put an S at the end.
- The National Education has just revealed the school holiday calendar: “holidays” here refers to the time when children will not have class, so it is appropriate to put an S.