Articles are the little words that make language really clear: “The,” “A,” “Some,” “Several,” “Of,” “Of the” and “Any.”
As you work through this Lesson, you will inevitably come across new words and new expressions. You may feel that you’re having to deal with a lot of new material and unpredictable rules. Not all of it will make sense at first!
But if we dissect the rules too much, you will find yourself caught up by the technical side of the language. Rather, allow yourself the benefit of enjoying the experience even when you have questions left un-answered... for the time being! You will see that by the time you reach the end of this Lesson, the exercises and activities will clarify and reinforce your progress.
Define it ….
In English the word “the” is what we call a definite article. That is because the word “the” points to a very specific thing. For example, you may tell someone, “I want the mug” assuming that they will bring you the mug you have in mind.
Or not!
If you tell them, “I want a mug,” you will get whichever mug they choose to hand you! That is because the words “a” or “an” or “some” are indefinite articles and point to a general group of items, things, people or places.
Making Things Specific (Definite) in French
In French, the short defining word before the noun is really part of the noun. For instance, “le musicien” and “la musicienne” for musician.
In French, “the” is not just one word. Rather there are a total of 4 versions of “the,” depending on the gender and quantity of the noun to which you are referring.
The French word for “the,” if followed by a masculine noun, is “Le.” If followed by a feminine noun, it is “La,” and when followed by any noun in the plural, it is “Les.” For example, if there is one (male) cat, we say “Le chat.” If there are two or more cats, we say “Les chats.” If there is one woman, we say “La femme.” If there are two or more women, we say “Les femmes.”
 |  |
Le chat | Les chats |
Any singular noun beginning with a vowel or an “h” is always preceded by an apostrophe after the definite article: “ L’” - for example, “ L’homme,” “ L’hiver,” “ L’escalier.” The apostrophe is inserted in between the article and the noun. This is because two vowel sounds in French cannot follow from one word to another.
In summary:
 | The + masculine noun | = le |
| The + feminine noun | = la |
| The + any noun beginning with a vowel | = l’ |
| The + any plural noun | = les |
| Le garçon The boy |
| |||
| Les garçons The boys | ||||
| La fille The girl | ||||
| Les filles The girls | ||||
| L’invité The guest (a man) | ||||
| Les invités The guests | ||||
| L’enfant The child | ||||
| Les enfants The children | ||||
| Le livre The book | ||||
| Les livres The books | ||||
| La pomme The apple | ||||
| Les pommes The apples | ||||
| La librairie The bookstore | ||||
| Les librairies The bookstores | ||||
| Le jeu The game | ||||
| Les jeux The games | ||||
| L’hôtel The hotel | ||||
| Les hôtels The hotels |
Making Things General (Indefinite) in French
The previous section referred to making things specific using “ the” in French, in the form of “ Le,” “ La,” “ Les” and “ L’.” In this section, we talk about the ways to make things general, or indefinite. In French, there are 3 ways of using the indefinite articles “ a,” “ an,” “ some” or “ several.”
| A or An + masculine noun | = un |
| A or An + feminine noun | = une |
| Some or Several + any plural noun | = des |
| Une fleur A flower |
| |||||
| Des fleurs Some flowers | ||||||
| Une copine A friend (a woman) | ||||||
| Des copines Several friends (women) | ||||||
| Un crayon A pencil | ||||||
| Des crayons Several pencils | ||||||
When Indefinite and Definite Work Together in French
"Some" and "several" in French are interchangeable with "any" and "of the." We refer to words like "some" and "several" as articles. These articles help to define words and quantities, and just like everything else in French, they have to follow gender rules.
This means that almost everything new you learn in French will be subject to the following questions:
| Is it a female group of words? | |
| Is it a male group of words? | |
| Is it singular or plural? | |
| Does it begin with a vowel? |
A Versatile Word: “De”
The next group of defining words, “ of the,” “of,” “ some,” “ several,” or “ any” have lots of different uses, and once again, they change according to whether the thing or things you are talking about are masculine or feminine, singular or plural. The root word “ de” is very versatile indeed , and generally changes form as follows to mean “of” and “of the.”
| of or of the + masculine noun | = de or du |
| of or of the + feminine noun | = de la |
| of or of the + any noun starting with a vowel | = d’ or de l’ |
| of or of the + any plural noun | = des |
Sounds in Pronunciation
Before we carry on, it’s worth discussing some points of pronunciation, because the word “ de” can be a slippery one and tends to change its own sound and the sound of surrounding words when they all get together. When speaking French, words must be linked to one another by sound so that they flow. When there are too many vowel sounds together, they are simply eliminated. In French, the expression that’s used to explain this principle is “ faire la liaison entre les mots,” which means, “ to make connections between words.”
As you get used to the various forms of “ de,” as it is used in “of,” and “of the,” you’ll start noticing lots of examples of “ la liaison.”
Vowels can’t follow straight on from one word to another, so if you see a word ending in a vowel, and the next word beginning with a vowel, be alert! We have given you two examples so far:
| L’i nvité and l’enfant start with a L’ instead of a Le. This is because Le would be followed by the sound i in invité, and by the sound e in enfant, and would be grammatically and phonetically incorrect. Try saying “Le invite ”and “Le enfant ”and you’ll notice how jerky it sounds. | |
A very similar principle applies when using “of” and “ of the ” with a noun like “ Le garçon.” The word “of” is “ de” and the word “boy” is “ le garcon.” But “of the boy,” meaning “belonging to the boy” isn’t “ de le garçon” as you might expect, but “ du garçon.” “ De le” always gets shortened to “ du.” It’s really because “ de” and “ le” sound odd so close together.
In other words, when the sound of two vowels together clashes, such as “ de le,” a kind of shortcut rule applies, making it “ du” for the purpose of sounding more fluid. For feminine words, “ de la” doesn’t change, unless the word begins with a vowel, when “ de la” becomes “ de l’.”
You will also note from the following examples that a literal translation has been included in brackets, because there is no equivalent in French for the use of the apostrophe as it is used in English. The children’s game, for example, is literally translated as the game of the children. This is where “ de,” in its various forms as explained above, comes into action.
| Le jeu des enfants. The children’s game. (The game of the children) |
La couleur du vin
Du fromage | |
| Le jeu de l’enfant. The child’s game. (The game of the child) | ||
| Le jeu de la fille. The girl’s game. (The game of the girl) | ||
| Le jeu du garçon. The boy’s game. (The game of the boy) | ||
| Le jeu de l’invité. The guest’s game. (The game of the guest) | ||
| Le goût du fromage. (masculine) The taste of the cheese. | ||
| La couleur du vin. (masculine) The color of the wine. | ||
| La fraîcheur du pain. (masculine) The freshness of the bread. | ||
| La qualité de la confiture. (feminine) The quality of the jam. | ||
| La beauté de l’actrice. (feminine + vowel) The beauty of the actress. | ||
As well as being used to say “of” or “of the” in the plural, as we saw above, du, de la, d’, de l’ and des are also used to mean “some” and “several.” In effect, this is when the article “a” or “an” becomes a plural, to mean more than just one.
| Du fromage (masculine) Some cheese |
Du vin | |
| Du vin (masculine) Some wine | ||
| Du pain (masculine) Some bread | ||
| De la confiture (feminine) Some jam | ||
| De l’argent (masculine + vowel) Some money | ||
| De l’omelette (feminine + vowel) Some omelet |
That's more than enough technical stuff for one day. I have to mention that you've been a most excellent student for sticking through the tricky bits. Next time we'll be back on the conversational side of things!
In tomorrow's lesson you'll find out all about how to introduce yourself in French, ask someone's name, and tell them your own. You'll also be able to explain to people how much - or how little - French you know. Don't miss this one - we all know how important first impressions are!
Á plus tard! (See you later!)
Marie-Claire
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