1. The definite articleFrench has three forms of the definite article corresponding to the English article "the".
They are
Le, La and
Les. There is also the singular
l' used before vowels
Usage depends on the gender and number (singular, plural) of the
noun.
Le is used with singular masculine nouns.
Le garcon, le train, le problème, le président, etc.
La is used with singular feminine nouns
La fille, la dame, la voiture, la difficulté, la maison
Les is used with plural nouns, whatever gender they may be
Les garçons, les filles, les personnes, les choses, les difficultés, etc.
L' is used in the singular before vowels, irrespective of gender
L'enfant, l'ami, l'amie, l'université, l'option, l'iris
Usage: Use of the definite article in French is not always the same as in English. In simple defining contexts, usage is similar.
Examples:
The car is in the street - La voiture est dans la rue
The first is the best - Le premier est le meilleur
However, there are some difficulties to be mastered ....... Difficulty! Article usage with plural count nouns in French
There are two ways of using count nouns (nouns refering to items that
can be counted) in the plural: a generalising use (i.e. all the items)
and a restrictive use (i.e. some of the items)
When
count-nouns are used in a
generalising context in the plural, English indicates this generalisation by omitting the article; French marks it by using the definite article.
Examples:
I like cakes : J'aime les gâteaux.
Children often make a lot of noise: Les enfants font souvent beaucoup de bruit
Snakes can be dangerous : Les serpents peuvent être dangereux
Thus
a plural count noun preceded by a definite article generalises, a
plural count-noun preceded by an indefinite article is restrictive.
Children like sweets :
les enfants aiment les bonbons but She has (some) children :
elle a des enfants
The above examples show that the dividing line between the concepts of
"generalisation" and "restriction" is not quite the same in French and
English.
Difficulty! Article usage with singular non-count nouns in French In French, it is
not normally possible to use a noun without a predeterminer of one sort or another. Thus singular
non-count-nouns which do not need an article or determiner in English normally require one in French.
Examples:
Water is necessary for life : l'eau est nécessaire pour la vie
He's studying philosophy : Il étudie la philosophie
French is a living language : Le français est une langue vivante.
French has three forms of the indefinite article corresponding to the English articles "a / an" and "some".
They are
Un, une and
des.
In addition, there are partitive articles used in the singular with non-count nouns:
They are:
du, de la and
de l' Usage depends on the gender and number (singular, plural) of the
noun.
Un is used with singular masculine nouns.
Un garcon, un train, un problème, un président, un ami etc.
Une is used with singular feminine nouns
Une fille, une dame, une voiture, une difficulté, une maison
Des is used with plural nouns, whatever gender they may be
Des garçons, des filles, des personnes, des choses, des difficultés, etc.
The partitive forms are used in the singular
Du café, de la bière, de l'eau
Examples:
There's a man in the cupboard : Il y a un homme dans le placard
There's a fly in my soup : il y a une mouche dans ma soupe
I've got a good idea : J'ai une bonne idée
I need a chair to sit on : j'ai besoin d'une chaise pour m'asseoir
There are (some) people in the street : il y a des gens dans la rue.
There's (some) coffee or (some) beer ; il y a du café ou de la bière
3. Omission of the article► In some fixed expressions, singular nouns can be used without an article. But note that this is
exceptional.
► The article is normally omitted when indicating a person's job.
► It is also normally omitted in generalising cases after de: this includes cases following quantifiers such as
beaucoup de (lots of), peu de (few), trop de (too much / many), etc
. Here are some examples:
Examples:
I'm frightened / J'ai peur
I'm hungry / j'ai faim
I'm working at home : Je travaille à domicile . (or ... à la maison)
I need some sleep / J'ai besoin de sommeil
The man over there's a doctor / L'homme là-bas est médecin
He's a company director / Il est chef d'entreprise
It's a real masterpiece / C'est un vrai chef d'oeuvre
I've got lots of good friends / J'ai beaucoup de bons amis
There's lots of water in the river / Il y a beaucoup d'eau dans la rivière.
There's too much sugar in this tea. / Il y a trop de sucre dans ce thé.
There are too many people here. / Il y a trop de personnes ici.
