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Review of definite articles

In French, most nouns need to be supported by an article. One type of article is a definite article
which in English is the'. French articles are also masculine or feminine, singular or plural,
according to the gender and number of the noun they determine. There can also be an alternative
version of an article if the noun it precedes begins with a vowel a, e, i, o, u. Here are the definite
articles in French:
Masculine singular: le (l')

Arnold le tatou
Joe-Bob l'cureuil

Arnold the armadillo


Joe-Bob the squirrel

Feminine singular: la (l')

Betty la chatte
l'Universit du Susquehanna

Betty the cat (female)


The University of Susquehanna

Masculine and feminine


plural: les

les tatous
les cureuils
les chats
les universits

the armadillos
the squirrels
the cats
the universities

In the examples above, that le and la both become l' when they precede a noun beginning with a
vowel or a silent h: l' escargot, l' universit.
When les is followed by a word starting with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) the normally silent s of les is
pronounced.
Identifying a specific noun:
The definite article is used to identify a specific noun or to refer to a noun that has already been
specified.
Joe-Bob: Vous connaissez la chapelle Universit
de Susquehanna?

Joe-Bob: Do you know the chapel at


Susquehanna University?

Arnold: Bien sr, c'est le symbole de


l'Universit!

Arnold: Of course, it is the symbol of the


University!

Joe-Bob: Une la rue nomme orange?

Joe-Bob: And the street named orange?

Arnold: Eh bien, c'est les Champs-Elyses


d'Selinsgrove!

Arnold: Well, it's the Champs-Elysees of


Selinsgrove.

To express likes and dislikes:


It is important that you notice the type of verb used in the sentance. With verbs describing likes
and dislikes such as aimer, prfrer, detester, adorer you have to use the definite articles le, la, l,
les. This is because you are talking about things in a general sense. Example:
Arnold adore les croissants.
Arnold loves croissants.
Joe-Bob prfre les doughnuts.
Joe-Bob prefers doughnuts.
Tina n'aime pas le caf.
Tina does not like coffee.
Edouard apprcie la bonne cuisine
Edouard appreciates good French cuisine.
franaise.
Notice the generalness of the noun the verb proceeds. It is describing French cuisine as a whole
in general terms. It does not specifically say crepes, escargot, or le baguette. The croissants are
spoken about in general terms as well. It does not say specifically state pain au chocolat. When
describing the caf it is also in general terms because the caf does not have a specific name,
such as, The Kind Caf.
With habitual recurrence:
A definite article is used in French with moments of the day, days of the week, and seasons to
indicate their recurrence. Example:
Le matin, Tina va en cours.

Every morning, Tina goes to class.

L'aprs-midi, elle va la bibliothque.


Le lundi, Arnold fait son jogging.
L't, il se baigne avec Tina Bonita Springs.
L'hiver, il skie Camp Hill.

Every afternoon, she goes to the library.


On Mondays, Arnold goes for a jog.
Every summer, he bathes with Tina at Bonita
Springs. Every winter, he skis in Camp Hill.

There is an exception though with the days of the week. They do not require an article in
instances where they do not indicate a recurrence. Example:
Lundi, il a rendez-vous avec Tina.

Monday he has a date with Tina.

The difference between this and the reoccurrence is the activity happening on the day of the
week is not repeating. In this example above, the date with Tina is a onetime occurrence that
happening just this Monday, not every Monday.
Months of the year never require an article. Example:
Cependant Joe-Bob adore mars
Selinsgrove.

Nevertheless Joe-Bob adores March in


Selinsgrove.

When in a series
This article is usually repeated in series. Unlike English where you would use just commas in
French you would use le, la, l, les. Example:
Tina: Arnold, aide-moi mettre la table!
Arnold, help me set the table! Bring the
Apporte les assiettes, les couteaux, les verres,
plates, knives, glasses, napkins, and wine.
les serviettes et le vin.
With words that are in a series the article precedes every noun in the series along with a comma
to separate. I am not exactly why this is this way since the ending of the noun itself is already
making the noun plural. However this is just one part of the entire article that has to be
memorized.
Personally overall I did not find this to be a horribly difficult lesson to comprehend. It can be
difficult to know when to use the definite articles verses the indefinite and partitive articles that I
have posted as part of my Guide de grammaire page on my blog.

Remplir le vide avec le bon article dfini : le, la, l, les


1. _____ chat joue dans le jardin pendant que je fais la sieste.
2. _____ fils du voisin aime jouer au ballon avec ses amis.
3. _____ saison que he prfre, cest lete car jaime la chaleur.
4. Arnold dteste _____ Pennsylvania.
5. Arnold: _____ dictionnaire est intressant!
6. Arnold: Jadore _____ chattes!
7. Il aime regarder son pre travailler dans _____ atelier.
8. Joe-Bob regarde _____ television.
9. Joe-Bob: Jadore _____ odeur des pesticides!
10. Joe-Bob: Je dteste _____ professeur de maths.
11. Le vent est tombe, _____ mer sest calme, nous pouvons y aller.
12. Tina: _____ affiche de Paris est super!
13. Tina: _____ femmes sont sensibles.
14. Tina: _____ salle de classe est romantique!
15. Tina: _____ tatous sont intelligents!

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