The Ultimate Guide To French Articles

Introduction

In French, nouns are usually preceded by articles. They change to agree with the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun they precede.

But how do you choose which article to use in a specific situation? This is what we will learn in this topic.

Articles Définis (Definite Articles)

The definite articles, le, la, and les, are basically equivalent to the English the.

LE and LA

If you remember, French makes a distinction between masculine and feminine objects. So, people use le for masculine things/persons and la for feminine things/persons.

• la table - the table

• le téléphone - the phone

• le lit - the bed

• la porte - the door

LE and LA  + voyelle (vowel or mute = h)

If the noun starts with a vowel or mute consonant, the article (singular) le or la will be transformed to l’.

• l’ordinateur and les ordinateurs - the computer/the computers

• l’île and les îles - the island/the islands

• l’appareil photo and des appareils photos - the camera/the cameras

LES

In French, the plural doesn’t care about the gender. The plural of definite articles will always be les.

• la table > les tables

• le téléphone > les téléphones

• le lit > les lits

• la porte > les portes

Note: From this example, you can see how easy the plural is in French. Only an s is added at the end of the word. But be careful, there are of course many exceptions.

Recap

Differences Between the English and French "the"

Anytime the is used in English, a definite article will surely be used in French. But, it is not always the case the other way around. In some cases the French will use a definite article when English uses no article at all:

Like + noun

• J’aime le lait. I like milk.
• J’aime les livres. I like books.

Languages

• Je veux apprendre le français. I want to learn French.
• C’est un livre sur “comment utiliser le français.” It’s a book about “how to use French.”

Articles Indéfinis (Indefinite Articles)

The indefinite articles are un, une and des.

UN and UNE

The indefinite articles un/une are used exactly like the English indefinite articles a/an. Un is used for masculine things/persons and une for feminine things/persons.

• une chemise - a shirt
• un réfrigérateur - a fridge
• une clé - a key
• un livre - a book

It is used when referring to a single instance that is part of a group that consists of many entities. Like a/an, the French indefinite article is used with a noun referring to a nonspecific item or to a specific item when the speaker and the audience do not both know what the item is.

• J'ai cassé une chaise. I broke a chair.

DES

The indefinite article des is the plural form.

• une chemise > des chemises

• un réfrigérateur > des réfrigérateurs

• une clé > des clés

• un livre > des livres

Unlike a/an, the French indefinite article has a plural form, often translated as some but usually simply omitted in English.

• Il y a des livres là-bas. There are some books over there. OR: There are books over there.

Exception to the Article DES

The article des has a few exceptions.

After a negative verb (except the verb être)

Des becomes de before a consonant and d’ before a vowel.

• Je vais voir un ami. > Je ne vais pas voir d'ami.

• I’m going to see a friend. > I’m not going to see a friend.

• Je vais lire des livres. > Je ne vais pas lire de livres.

• I’m going to read some books. > I’m not going to read books.

• Je mange des pâtes. > Je ne mange pas de pâtes.

• I eat pasta. > I don’t eat pasta.

• Je bois de l’eau. > Je ne bois pas d’eau.

• I drink water. > I don’t drink water.

There is an exception: it does not work with the verb être.

• C'est un ami. > Ce n'est pas un ami.

• He/she is a friend. > He/she is not a friend.

• Ce sont des vacances. > Ce ne sont pas des vacances.

• It’s holidays. > It’s not holidays.

Before an adjective

The plural form des is normally reduced to de (or d' if before a vowel) when it applies to a noun preceded by an adjective.

• Des arbres > de beaux arbres

• trees > beautiful trees

• Des exercices > d'autres exercices

• exercises > other exercises

• Des robes > de jolies robes

• dress > nice dresses

With a quantity

When there is a notion of quantity, des becomes de (or d’ before a vowel).

• Je vais voir un ami. > Je vais voir beaucoup d'amis.

• I’m going to see a friend. > I’m going to see many friends.

• Je vais lire des livres. > Je vais lire peu de livres.

• I’m going to read some books. > I’m going to read a few books.

• Je mange des pâtes. > Je mange assez de pâtes.

• I eat pasta. > I eat enough pasta.

• Je bois de l’eau. > Je bois un verre d’eau.

• I drink water. > I drink a glass of water.

Recap

Recap about Definite and Indefinite Articles

Partitive Articles

A partitive article consists of the preposition de followed by a definite article (du, de la). Du is used for singular masculine things and de la for singular feminine things.

Note: If it’s before a vowel, de l’ is used.

It is frequently used before a singular noun that represents something that can be divided into smaller parts like liquids, wood, food, etc.

• J’ai du café. I have some coffee.

• Il prend de l’eau. He takes some water.

• Je bois du vin rouge pour le dîner. I drink some red wine during dinner.

• Elle boit de la bière. She drinks beer.

• Coupez nous du bois pour le feu. Let’s cut some wood for the campfire.

Note: There is an exception for the negative form. In negative sentences, du, de la, des, and de l' change to de:

• Il y a encore du vin. > Il n'y a plus de vin.

• There is some wine left. > There is not any wine left.

• Elle boit du café. > Elle ne boit pas de café.

• She drinks coffee. > She doesn’t drink coffee.

Conclusion

This is all the basic stuff to know about articles. I hope everything is understable for you. You can ask me questions at any time if something seems hard to understand or if you need some exercises to practice on your own.

Image Sources

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