French Articles


There are 3 types of articles in French and they have been a source of confusion to students of French for years. So, to hopefully make them a little clearer to you, I have prepared this handout. If you review this and do the exercises in the book, you should do ok on the final.

The definite article

The definite article corresponds to the English "the" and has 3 forms:

Singular Plural
Masculine le livre les livres
Feminine la chaise les chaises
M&F before
a vowel or
silent h l'helicoptère les helicoptères
l'épicerie les épiceries

The l' is used before both masculine and feminine nouns that begin with a vowel or a silent 'h'.
When the definite articles le or les are proceeded by à or de the following contractions are made:

à + le = au Je vais aller au marché.
à + les = aux Il donne l'argent aux marchands (shopkeepers).
de + le = du Je parle du marché.
de + les = des Elles sont contentes des fruits du marché.

NOTE!! There are no contractions with la or l'.

The definite article is normally used to refer to specific persons or things.

C'est le livre de Paul.
Elles vont à la bibliothèque.
N'oubliez pas les croissants.

The definite article has some uses in French without a real English equivalent. These are summarized below.

1. General or Abstract Nouns
The definite article is used when speaking of a thing or things in a general or an abstract
sense, since you are referring to the concept as a whole.

La liberté est importante.
La viande coûte chèr.
Je cherche le bonheur (happiness).

*It is because you are referring to the nouns as a whole that you always use the definite article after the following verbs, even when they are used negatively.

aimer Ils n'aiment pas le vin.
adorer J'adore la viande.
préférer Nous ne préférons pas les supermarchés.
détester Vous détesez les épinards.
apprécier Il apprécie les livres français.

2. Titles
The definite article is used before titles when referring indirectly to people. It is NOT used when addressing a person directly.

La Reine Elisabeth habite à Londres.
Je suis dans le cours du professeur Ouellette.

3. Languages
The definite article is used before the names of languages, except after the verb parler (when it is unmodified) and after the prepositions en and de.

Nous étudions le français.
Il désire enseigner le russe.

But
Le livre est en Italien.
C'est un professeur d'allemand.
Vous parlez français.

If parler is modified by an adverb you would keep the definite article.

Vous parlez bien le français.

4. Parts of the Body and Clothing
The definite article is used with parts of the body and clothing to indicate possession. If the noun is modified, the possessive adjectives is used the same as it is in English.

Elle ferme les yeux.
Il a les mains dans les poches.

But
Elle ferme ses yeux bleus.
Il a ses deux mains dans ses poches vides.
(He has his 2 hands in his empty pockets.)

The indefinite article
The indefinite article refers to nouns in a NON specific sense and corresponds to the English 'a', 'an' and 'some'.

Singular Plural
Masculine un livre des livres
Feminine une salade des salades

Note that des is the plural form for both masculine and feminine nouns.
After most negative constructions the indefinite articles un, une and des become de.

Je ne désire pas de viande.
Elle n'a pas de salade.

Omission of the indefinite article

Sometimes the indefinite article can be omitted in French. The situations where this can occur are summarized below.

1. After Être
Unlike English, the indefinite article is omitted after the verb être when the verb is followed by an unmodified noun indicating nationality, religion or profession.

Elle est médecin.
Il est catholique.
Elle est canadienne.

BUT!
When c'est is used instead of il est you use the indefinite article.

C'est un Français.
C'est un avocate.

The indefinite article is also used when the noun that follows the verb être is modified.

Victor Hugo est un auteur célèbre.
VIctor Hugo est un auteur que tous les Français connaissent.

2. After Quel, Quels, Quelle and Quelles (What a)
 The indefinite article is not used after the expressions quel, quels, quelle and quelles when they are used as an exclamation corresponding to "What a"

Quelle belle vue!
Quel mec!
Quelles nanas!

3. Complement nouns
The indefinite article is not used after a noun that is a complement of another noun.

une robe de soie.
un professeur d'histoire

4. After the preposition 'sans'
The indefinite article is not used after the preposition sans.

Il travaille sans argent.

5. After 'avec'
The indefinite article is not used after avec when talking about abstract nouns.
Travaillez avec soin!

BUT!! Travaillez avec des amis!
NOTE!
In negative sentences the indefinite article is replaced by de.
J'ai une salade. Je n'ai pas de salade.

The partitive article

The partitive article is perhaps the most confusing of the French articles. It looks like it might be the indefinite article, but also has elements of the definite articles. Hopefully the following will make it easier to understand.

Formation
The partitve article is formed with de + the definite article.
Masculine Noun de + le = du J'achète du lait.
Feminine Noun de + la = de la Il commande de la viande.
Masc or Fem Noun
before a vowel or
silent 'h' de + l' = de l' Jetez de l'eau sur le feu.
Plural Nouns,
Masc or Fem de + les = des Nous prennons des fruits.

This construction is called the partitive because it refers to part of a whole. In English, we often omit the words some or any, even when that meaning is implied. In French, you must use the partitive whenever the sense of the sentence limits the quantity referred to. Try this: Ask yourself if you mean all of the concept referred to or only part of it.
J'achète du lait. I'm buying some milk, not all the milk.
Il commande de la viande. He orders some meat, not all the meat.
Nous prenons des fruits. We're taking some fruit, not all the fruit.

If the sentence is in the negative, the partitive article is replaced by de, (d')
Il achète du vin. Il n'achète pas de vin.
Je mange de la viande. Je ne mange pas de viande.
Jetez de l'eau sur le feu. Ne jetez pas d'eau sur le feu.

De is used after expressions of quantity.
beaucoup de...
assez de...
peu de...*
un peu de...*
trop de...
* peu vs. un peu de
While peu and un peu de look alike, you use them in different ways.
Peu de can be used with either singular or plural nouns.
Un peu de can only be used with singular nouns, those that cannot be counted.
Voulez-vous un peu de fromage?

NOTE! There are some exceptions.
la plupart (most) and bien (many) always take des.
La plupart des gens aiment le vin.
Bien des étudiants étudient à la bibliothèque.
De is also used with a plural adjective that precedes a noun.

Ils ont des amis. Ils ont de bons amis.
Elle visite des hôtels chers. Elle visites de grands hôtels.