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Articles

This document discusses the use of articles in French. There are definite articles (le, la, les) and indefinite articles (un, une, des) that indicate gender and number of nouns. The indefinite article is used for non-specific things or introductory mentions. The definite article refers to specific or already mentioned things. A partitive article formed from de + article is used for undetermined amounts. Articles can contract with prepositions like à and de. In some cases like names, days, and months no article is used.

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40 views

Articles

This document discusses the use of articles in French. There are definite articles (le, la, les) and indefinite articles (un, une, des) that indicate gender and number of nouns. The indefinite article is used for non-specific things or introductory mentions. The definite article refers to specific or already mentioned things. A partitive article formed from de + article is used for undetermined amounts. Articles can contract with prepositions like à and de. In some cases like names, days, and months no article is used.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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ARTICLES

WHAT IS AN ARTICLE?
In French, nouns are almost always preceded by an article or a determiner. This indicates
the gender of the noun (masculine or feminine) and its number (singular or plural). There
are two types of articles: definite articles (articles définis) (le, la, les) and indefinite
articles (article indéfinis) (un, une, des).

Example

Léna est une copine de Lara et la copine de François.


Léna a acheté une glace. Elle aime beaucoup la glace.

WHEN TO USE THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE


In French, the indefinite articles (articles indéfinis) are un (masculine singular), une
(feminine singular) and des (plural for both genders).

We use the indefinite article in the following cases:

§ to talk about something non-specific

Example:
Léna est une copine de Lara. (one of many)

§ in an introductory capacity to mention something for the first time in a text

Example:
Léna a acheté une glace.

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ℹ Info
§ The French indefinite article for the plural (des) is similar to the English
“some”.
Example:
Léna et Lara ont acheté des glaces.
§ However, if there is an adjective before a plural noun, the indefinite
article des becomes de.
Example:
Léna et Lara ont acheté de bonnes glaces.

WHEN TO USE THE DEFINITE ARTICLE IN FRENCH


The French definite articles (articles définis) are le in the masculine singular, la in the
feminine singular, l’ for singular nouns that start with a vowel, and les in the plural (both
genders). They correspond to the English article the.

We use the definite article in the following cases:

§ to talk about a specific person or thing

Example:
Léna est la copine de François.

§ to refer to a person or thing that has already been mentioned or is already known to
the listener/reader

Example:
Elle éteint la lumière.

§ after the verbs (aimer, adorer, préférer, détester)

Example:
Elle adore les chevaux.

WHAT IS THE PARTITIVE ARTICLE IN FRENCH?


The partitive article (l’article partitif) is used to talk about an undetermined amount of
something. It is formed using the preposition de + article. English uses no article in these
cases, but French employs the partitive article:

§ with uncountable nouns

Example:
Il faut acheter de l’eau et du café.
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§ to talk about sports and musical instruments with the verb faire

Examples:
Il fait du foot.
Il joue de la flûte.

HOW TO CONTRACT ARTICLES AND PREPOSITIONS IN FRENCH


When the masculine singular definite article (le or les) follows the prepositions à or de we
combine them to make one word. This is known as contraction (la contraction).

Preposition Preposition + Article Example


à à + le = au la glace au chocolate
à à + les = aux Fais attention aux enfants
de de + le = du parler du jeu
de de + les = des c’est la table des enfants

WHEN TO USE NO ARTICLE IN FRENCH


In French we don’t use an article for:

§ names of towns

Example:
Ils habitent à Paris.

§ days of the week

Example:
Nous l’avons vu lundi.

§ months

Example:
Je suis né en juillet.

§ phrases with en + transport

Example:
As-tu voyagé en train ou en voiture ?

§ jobs (in a general context)

Examples:
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Elle est laborantine.
But : Je connais la laborantine. → to talk about a specific person
C’est une bonne laborantine. → to talk about a particular quality

§ religions

Examples:
Il est catholique.
But : C’est le catholique qui va tous les jours à l’église. → to talk about a specific
person
C‘est une bonne catholique.

In some cases, the partitive article de appears without another article:

§ to express quantities (except after bien, la plupart, une partie, la majorité and la
moitié)

Example:
J’ai bu beaucoup de café.

§ after a negation

Example:
Il n‘a plus d’eau dans son verre.

§ after certain verbs or expressions that contain de

Examples:
J’ai besoin d’argent.
J’ai envie de fraises.

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