I l’article
Articles are the most common noun determiners (déterminants). There are three types of articles in French: definite, indefinite, and partitive. For each article, information about the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun is revealed. Unlike in English, where articles are often omitted, there is almost always some sort of noun marker in French. Articles are the most common form of noun marker or determiner. Other determiners include interrogative adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, indefinite adjectives, numeral adjectives, and possessive adjectives. (For a complete lesson on determiners see Chapter 2)
I.1 L’article défini
a. The definite article (le, la, l’, les) indicates a specific person or thing or the entire category of people or things. (See also difficulty with partitive / definite article)
le train / the train / l’avion (m.) / the airplanele chat / the cat / l’automobile (f.) / the automobile
le fromage / the cheese, cheese / l’église (f.) / the church
la voiture / the car / les accidents / the accidents, accidents
la honte / the shame, shame / les fruits / the fruits, fruits
la colère / the anger, anger / les élèves / the students, students
b. The definite article l’ is used before singular nouns of either gender beginning with a vowel or silent h.
l’amie (f.), l’escargot (m.), l’hôtel (m.), l’étudiant (m.), l’escrime (f.), l’histoire(f.)
c. When there are several nouns in a list, the article must be repeated for each one, even though it is often dropped in English.
les pizzas et les boissons / the pizzas and drinksle rouge et le noir / red and black
le classeur, le stylo et les crayons / the notebook, pen, and pencils
d. When using the prepositions à or de, several contractions must be made with the definite articles.
à + le = au / de + le = duà + les = aux / de + les = des
There are no contractions made with la or l’.
Ils veulent aller au magasin. / They want to go to the store.Parlons aux athlètes. / Let’s talk to the athletes.
J’ai consulté le propriétaire du vélo. / I consulted the bike’s owner.
N’oublie pas d’enlever l’air des pneus. / Don’t forget to take the air out of the tires.
Les pieds de la table sont trop courts. / The table’s legs are too short.
Exercice || Exercice || Exercice
e. The definite article has many uses in French, some of which are idiomatic and do not always correspond to “the” in English. It is used…
e.1 with nouns used in a general or abstract sense:
Le thé est meilleur que le coca. / Tea is better than coke.Ils préfèrent les glaces à la vanille. / They prefer vanilla ice cream.
Vive la liberté! / Long live freedom!
e.2 with names of languages, except immediately after parler, after en, and in an adjective phrase with de:
Comprenez-vous l’espagnol? / Do you understand Spanish?Le russe n’est pas facile. / Russian isn’t easy.
Je parle très bien l’italien. / I speak Italian very well.
mais,
On parle français ici. / French is spoken here.
Vous avez chanté en italien. / You sang in Italian.
Elle a perdu son livre d’anglais. / She lost her English book.
e.3 in place of the possessive adjective with body parts when the possessor is clear:
Il a mal au bras. / His arm hurts.Fermez les yeux. / Close your eyes.
Elle a les cheveux blonds. / She has blond hair.
Le chien m’a mordu la cheville. / The dog bit my ankle.
e.4 with titles of rank or profession followed by a name, except when addressing the person:
le général Charles de Gaulle / General Charles de Gaullela reine Élisabeth / Queen Elizabeth
le docteur Brunot / Doctor Brunot
mais,
“Bonjour docteur Renaud.” / “Hello Doctor Renaud.”
e.5 with proper names when then are modified:
le Paris du XXème siècle / 20th century Parisla belle Vénus / beautiful Venus
e.6 with days of the week in a plural sense (i.e. on Wednesdays, every Wednesday):
Le samedi matin je vais à la piscine. / On Saturday mornings, I go to the pool.Ils ont anglais le jeudi et le vendredi. / They have English on Thursdays and Fridays.
NOTE: When the day of the week is in a singular sense (on Wednesday, this Wednesday), the article is not used:
Samedi matin je vais à la piscine. / Saturday morning, I’m going to the pool.Ils ont rendez-vous dimanche. / They have a date (on) Sunday.
e.7 with other times of day in the plural sense (i.e. in the mornings, every morning):
le matin / every morningl’après-midi / in the afternoons
le soir / every evening
la nuit / at night
e.8 with certain common expressions of time:
la veille / the previous day / nightla semaine dernière / la semaine passée / last week
le mois dernier/ le mois passé / last month
l’an dernier / l’an passé / last year
l’année dernière / l’année passée / last year
le lendemain / le jour suivant / the next day
la semaine prochaine / la semaine suivante / next week
le mois prochain / le mois suivant / next month
l’an prochain / l’année prochaine / next year
e.9 with dates:
Nous sommes le onze février. / Today is February 11th.Aujourd’hui, c’est le dix septembre. / Today is the September 10th.
Il est né le 21 avril. / He was born on April 21st.
e.10 with names of seasons and colors except after en:
Il n’aime pas le printemps. / He doesn’t like spring.Aimez-vous le rouge? / Do you like red?
mais,
En été, il fait vraiment chaud. / In the summer, it’s really hot.
La maison en bleu me plaît énormément. / The blue house pleases me a lot.
e.11 with names of most countries, states, mountains, and rivers:
Le Portugal me fascine. / Portugal fascinates me.Le Texas est plus grand que la France. / Texas is bigger than France.
Je fais du ski dans les Alpes. / I ski in the Alps.
La Loire est un fleuve très long. / The Loire is a very long river.
e.12 with prices based on weight, measure, and quantity where a, an, or per would be used in English:
trois euros la douzaine / 3€ a dozencinq dollars la pièce / $5 a piece
un euro cinq le litre / 1€05 per liter
ATTENTION: with expressions indicating frequency of time, par is used without an article:
quatre fois par heure / four times an hourvingt secondes par minute / twenty seconds per minute
deux fois par jour / two times a day
f. The definite article is omitted in numerical titles of monarchs.
Henri IV / Henry the FourthLouis XIV / Louis the Fourteenth
Napoléon Premier / Napoleon the First
Exercice || Exercice || Exercice || Exercice
I.2 l’article indéfini
a. The indefinite article (un, une, des) refers to persons and objects not specifically identified
un stylo / a pen / des ordinateurs / computers / some computersun sac à dos / a backpack / des marteaux / hammers / some hammers
une voiture / a car / des routes / roads / some roads
une affiche / a poster / des notes / grades / some grades
b. In a most negative sentences where an indefinite article or a partitive article would be used, the article becomes de (d’). (see also 1.3.d.1)
Je n’avais pas de pull. / I didn’t have a sweater.Ils ne prennent pas de café. / They are not having coffee.
On ne veut pas d’histoires. / We don’t want a scene.
Exercice || Exercice
c. The indefinite article is not used after être and devenir with adjectives of profession, occupation, nationality and religion. It is used when these same words are nouns.
Mon frère est ingénieur. / My brother is an engineer.Elle voudrait devenir chanteuse. / She would like to become a singer.
Elles sont catholiques. / They are catholic.
Ils sont français. / They are French.
mais,
Ma mère, c’est une avocate. / My mother is a lawyer.
Ce sont des protestants. / They are protestants.
C’est un ancien soldat. / He is a former soldier.
Brigitte est une Française qui aime le coca. / Brigitte is one French girl who likes Coke.
NOTE: In the above examples, ingénieur, chanteuse, catholiques, and français function as adjectives which modify the subject. Avocate, protestants, soldat and Française function as predicate nouns. An easy way to spot the difference is that the subject is ce or what follows the verb is modified, thus a noun and not an adjective.
d. There is no indefinite article used when an exclamatory adjective (quel, quelle, quels, quelles) is used.
Quel week-end extraordinaire! / What an extraordinary weekend!e. There is no indefinite article before the numbers cent and mille. However, the article is used with centaine (f.), millier(m.), million(m.), and milliard(m.).
cent navires / a hundred ships / mille insectes / a thousand insectsmais,
une centaine d’étoiles / a hundred stars / un millier d’hommes / (about) a thousand men
des millions de fleurs / millions of flowers / un milliard d’euros / a billion euros
Exercice || Exercice || Exercice
I.3 l’article partitif
a. The partitive article (du, de la, de l’, des) expresses an indefinite quantity or part of a whole.
du beurre / some butter / des moutons / some sheepde la glace / some ice cream / des citrons / some lemons
de l’argent / some money / des hôtels / some hotels
de l’eau / some water / des écoles / some schools
b. The partitive article is not omitted in French even though its corresponding English equivalents some and any may often be omitted.
Elle a du linge à faire. / She has laundry (some laundry) to do.Ils ont acheté de la soie. / They bought silk (some silk).
As-tu de l’argent? / Do you have money (any money)?
c. When there are several nouns in a list, the article must be repeated for each one, whereas it is often dropped in English.
Marine prend du café et de la tarte. / Marine is having some coffee and pie.On veut de la salade et des tomates. / We want salad and tomatoes.
Exercice
d. In quite a number of cases where the partitive article would be used. the article becomes de (d’). This is the case…
d.1 with negative sentences, where de expresses any:
Je n’ai pas d’argent. / I don’t have any money.Elle n’a jamais rencontré de copains. / She never met any friends.
Nous n’avons guère de problèmes. / We hardly have any problems.
NOTE: After ne…que (only) the article does not change.
Je ne mange que de la tarte. / I only eat pie.Elle ne veut que des cacahuètes. / She only wants peanuts.
Exercice
d.2 with an adjective which precedes a plural noun:
de belles plages / some beautiful beachesde vieilles histoires / old stories
de grandes aventures / big adventures
NOTE: When a plural adjective is part of a compound noun, the partitive article is retained.
des grands-parents / grandparents / des petits-enfants / grandchildrendes jeunes filles / girls / des petits pains / rolls
des jeunes gens / youths / des petits pois / English peas
NOTE: When an adjective precedes a singular noun, it is more common to keep the partitive article in its original form.
Il y avait du bon pain. / There was good bread.On a bu de la bonne bière. / We drank good beer.
d.3 with nouns of quantity and adverbs of quantity:
beaucoup de gens / lots of people / beaucoup d’oiseaux / a lot of birdstrop de devoirs / too much homework / une boîte d’anchois / a can of anchovies
cinq bouteilles de lait / five bottles of milk / une douzaine d’escargots / a dozen snails
un kilo de fromage / a kilogram of cheese / un litre d’eau / a liter of water
NOTE: There are some exceptions:
la plupart / most / une partie / a large partbien / a good many, a good deal / la majorité / the majority
la grande majorité des Russes / the large majority of Russians
bien des gens / a great many people
la plus grande partie de la quiche / the biggest part of the quiche
NOTE: Plusieurs (several) and quelques (some, a few) and all cardinal numbers are adjectives and modify the noun directly.
plusieurs chaussures / several shoes / quelques maisons / a few housestrois ballons / three balls / cinq verres / five glasses
d.4 with expressions which already require de (such as avoir besoin de ):
Nous avons besoin de patience. / We need patience.Ils manquent de pétrole. / They lack oil.
On ne peut pas se passer d’eau. / You can’t do without water.
As-tu envie d’air? / Do you feel like having some air?
Exercice || Exercice
e. The partitive article is omitted entirely after sans (without) and ne … ni … ni (neither…nor).
Il a réussi sans aide. / He succeeded without help.Jérôme ne mange ni pain ni gâteau. / Jérôme eats neither bread nor cake.
f. English speakers may often confuse the partitive and the definite article. The definite article is used to express entire or general categories of nouns, whereas the partitive article expresses part of the whole. As a general rule, if the word some could fit logically before the noun, then the partitive article is used. If, however, the word some could not be inserted before the noun without changing the meaning, then the definite article is used. The definite article is used quite often with likes, dislikes, and preferences. The partitive is associated with specific instances.
Les Français adorent le vin. / The French love wine (in general).Beaucoup de Français boivent du vin pendant les repas. / Many French people drink (some) wine during meals (all meals).
Elle déteste le rock. / She hates rock (a general preference).
On passe beaucoup de rock à la radio. / They play a lot of rock on the radio. (they don’t play all of it, just a lot of it)
Pour être parent, la patience est essentielle. / To be a parent, patience (the idea, in general) is essential.
Il faut de la patience pour être parent. / One must have (some) patience to be a parent.
Exercice