Does anybody know French - L'Etoile

EDITED Sunday 11 Feb 06, see answer below...

I have been having a discussion tonight in relation to the French word for star - etoile.

I know etoille itself is a feminine word, however my french is getting a little rusty. Sometimes you see this word referred to as "mon etoile" however mon is masculine, I have also seen many references to "ma bonne etoile" which is feminine - confusing!

Can anyone shed light on which, if any of these are correct. Do some French nouns have the ability to gender bend?

RESPONSE - French Grammar lesson #1:

French nouns beginning with a vowel, such as etoile, will automatically take "mon" even where they are feminine nouns (although feminine nouns will take "ma" if an adjective is inserted in the middle) therefore both mon etoile and ma bonne etoile are correct.

This is because the French language doesn't like the jarred flow from vowel to vowel that would be created from a phrase such as "ma etoile" therefore it becomes "mon etoile instead.