French Grammar
Definite Articles
The four forms of the definite article in French: le, la, l', les.
Start Interactive LessonLesson Summary
The four forms of the definite article in French: le, la, l', les.
Grammar
What are Definite Articles?
A definite article corresponds to the English word “the”. It introduces a specific, known noun. In French, every noun possesses a fixed gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). The article must agree with these properties. For a review of the subject pronouns used in examples, see subject pronouns.
The Four Definite Articles
| Article | Used before | Example |
|---|---|---|
| le | masculine singular noun | le livre (the book) |
| la | feminine singular noun | la table (the table) |
| l' | singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h | l'étudiant (the student), l'heure (the hour) |
| les | all plural nouns (masculine or feminine) | les livres, les tables |
Gender is Fixed
The gender of a noun never varies. The article and the noun must be learned together. At this stage, use le for masculine nouns and la for feminine ones. Patterns that help predict gender will be introduced in a later lesson.
Using Definite Articles with Known Nouns
Definite articles are employed when both speaker and listener share a common understanding of the noun referred to. For example: La cafétéria est grande. (The cafeteria is large – we know which one.) Nouns already encountered in earlier lessons include le français, la médecine, le droit, l’étudiant, and la faculté.
Examples
- Le professeur est sympa.Masculine singular noun with the article le.
- La faculté de droit est ici.Feminine singular noun with the article la.
- Les étudiants sont à la cafétéria.Plural noun (masculine or mixed group) with the article les.
Related searches
These are the main phrases this lesson covers: