The Articles: le, la, les, l’, un, une, des

There are three types of articles in French, also called “determinants,” as they help us determine the gender and the number (singular or plural) of the noun they introduce.

The definite articles

The French definite articles are the following: “le” for masculine singular nouns, “la” for feminine singular nouns and “ l’ ” for either feminine or masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a mute “h”, and “les” for plural nouns of both genders. They are all the equivalent of the English definite article: “the”.

	Definite articles	Examples
Before masculine singular nouns that start with a consonant	Le	Le diner est prêt. Dinner is ready.
Before feminine singular nouns that start with a consonant	La	La vie est belle. Life is beautiful.
Before masculine and feminine singular nouns that start with a vowel or a mute “h”	l’	On est arrivé à l’hôtel à 9h du soir. We arrived at the hotel at 9pm.
Before plural nouns(masculine and feminine)	Les	Les enfants dorment déjà ! The kids are sleeping already!

The indefinite articles

The French indefinite articles are the following: “un” for masculine singular nouns, “une” for feminine singular nouns, and “des” for masculine and feminine nouns. They are all the equivalent of the English indefinite article: “a/an.”

	Indefinite articles	Examples
Before singular masculine nouns	Un	Je t’ai acheté un cadeau. I bought a present for you.
Before singular feminine nouns	Une	Il habite une grande maison. He lives in a big house.
Before plural (masculine and feminine) nouns	Des	Elle a apporté des fleurs. She brought flowers.

The partitive articles

The French partitive articles are: du, de la, de l’. We use “du” before a masculine singular noun; we use “de la” before a feminine singular noun; we use “ de l’ ” before singular masculine nouns that start with a vowel or a mute “h.” We use “des” before plural nouns (masculine or feminine).

	Partitive articles	Examples
Before singular masculine nouns	du	J’ai mangé du fromage. I ate some cheese.
Before singular feminine nouns	de la	Elle a servi de la soupe à ses invités. She served some soup to her guests.
Before masculine and feminine singular nouns that start with a vowel or a mute “h”	de l’	Je bois de l’eau minérale. I drink mineral water.

The partitive articles are used with uncountable nouns such as le fromage, le café, le bois, musique etc...They express a part of the whole. Their English equivalent is: “some”.

Now study the following two sentences:

J’ai mangé du fromage.
I ate some cheese.

Je n’ai pas mangé de fromage.
I didn’t eat cheese.

You notice that the partitive article changed from “du” to “de” when the sentence changed from positive to negative.

Partitive Articles	Positive Form	Negative Form
du	Je mange du gâteau. I eat some cake.	Je ne mange pas de gâteau. I don’t eat cake.
de la	Il a de la famille en France. He has some family in France.	Il n’a pas de famille en France. He doesn’t have family in France.
de l’	Elle a de l’argent à te prêter. She has some money to lend you.	Elle n’a pas d’argent à te prêter. She doesn’t have money to lend you.

Exception: When the principal verb “être” to be (usually following the demonstrative pronoun “ce” ) is used in the sentence, then the partitive article doesn’t change when used in the negative form.

For example:

C’est du sucre.
This is sugar.

Ce n’est pas du sucre.
This is not sugar.

C’est de la bonne musique.
This is good music.

Ce n’est pas de la bonne musique.
This is not good music.

Remember: After the adverbs “beaucoup” and “un peu” or “peu”, “de” or “ d’ ” are used even with feminine nouns.

For example:

Il m’a causé beaucoup de tristesse.
He caused me a lot of sadness.

J’ai très peu d’énergie aujourd’hui.
I have very little energy today.