The French Articles - Indefinite, Definite and Partitive

Before learning about the articles, it's important to know the gender of nouns in French. Of course, French nouns have genders. Everything in French has gender. I am exaggerating, not everything.

GENDER OF NOUN

Every noun is masculine or feminine. There is no such this as neutral in french.

•  The obvious genders: 

UN - for masculine relations. Eg: un oncle, un grand-père, un frère.

UNE - for feminine relations. Eg: une tante, une grand-mère, une sœur 

•  90% of the nouns ending with E are feminine.

Eg: une chaussure, une lampe, une carte

Exceptions to the E ending rule.

• Words ending with E but are masculine:

Acle - un spectacle, un miracle, un obstacle

Age - un voyage, un fromage, un paysage, un village

Isme - un organisme, un tourisme

• Words not ending with E but are feminine:

Sion - la décision, la télévision, la misson

Tion - la nation, la révolution, la solution

• Day of week are always masculine. Eg: le lundi, le mardi
• Seasons are always masculine. Eg: un été, un automne
• Languages are masculine. Eg : le français, le chinois
• Weights and measures are masculine. Eg: un kilomètres, un gramme

LES ARTICLES INDÉFINIS 

Indefinite articles are used to refer to non-specific items, people, or things. They correspond to the English "a," "an," or "some." The articles are used as per the gender of the noun.

The french indfinite articles are Un, Une and Des.

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	Un (a,an)	Une (a,an)
Plural	Des (some/any)	Des (some/any)

UN - un garçon (a boy), un homme (a man)

UNE - une fille (a girl), une femme (a woman)

DES - des oranges (some oranges), des pommes (some apples)

In French, we have an article before noun most of the time. But exceptions are always there.

WHERE TO USE INDEFINITE ARTICLE?

1. Introducing Non-Specific Items

When mentioning something for the first time or when it's not a particular item:

• Example: "Je voudrais un café." (I would like a coffee.)

2. Describing One Among Many

When you're talking about one of many similar items:

• Example: "Elle a acheté une robe." (She bought a dress.)

3. Expressing Quantity or Amount

To indicate an unspecified amount or number of items:

• Example: "Il y a des livres sur la table." (There are some books on the table.)

4. Professions, Nationalities, and Religions

When stating someone's profession, nationality, or religion, indefinite articles can be used:

• Example: "Il est un médecin." (He is a doctor.)

• Example: "Elle est une Française." (She is a Frenchwoman.)

5. Generalizing

When speaking in general terms about a category of things:

• Example: "Un chien est un bon compagnon." (A dog is a good companion.)

6. After Verbs like 'avoir', 'être', and 'faire'

When describing what someone has, is, or does:

• Example: "Elle a un frère." (She has a brother.)

• Example: "C'est une voiture rapide." (It is a fast car.)

• Example: "Il fait des erreurs." (He makes mistakes.)

LES ARTICLES DÉFINIS 

The definite articles are used to talk about specific things. It translates to "the" in English.

The French definite articles are Le, La, L' and Les.

	Masculine	Feminine
Singulier	Le/L’	La/L’
Pluriel	Les	Les

LE - le garçon, le balcon

LA - la fille, la femme

L' - l'homme, l'heure

LES - les pommes, les affaires

WHERE TO USE DEFINITE ARTICLES?

1. Specific Items or People

   • When referring to something or someone specific that both the speaker and listener are aware of.

   • Example: "J'ai vu le chien de Marie." (I saw Marie's dog.)

2. General Statements or Categories

   • When making general statements about all members of a category.

   • Example: "Les chiens sont des animaux fidèles." (Dogs are loyal animals.)

3. Abstract Concepts and Nouns

   • When referring to abstract concepts, ideas, or collective nouns.

   • Example: "L'amour est important." (Love is important.)

4. Geographical Names

   • With certain geographical names, such as rivers, mountains, continents, provinces and countries (except for some exceptions).

   • Example: "La France est belle." (France is beautiful.)

5. Possession

   • When indicating possession.

   • Example: "La voiture de mon père." (My father's car.)

6. Days of the Week (Repetitive Actions)

• When referring to something that happens regularly on a particular day.

• Example: "Le lundi, je vais à la gym." (On Mondays, I go to the gym.) 

LES ARTICLES PARTITIFS

The partitive articles are used when talking about something without specifying it's quantity. The quantity is unknown.

	Masculine	Feminine
Singulier	Du / De’l	De la/ De l’
Pluriel	Des	Des

WHERE TO USE PARTITIVE ARTICLES?

1. Unspecified Quantity

   • When referring to an unspecified amount of something, often food or drink.

   • Example: "Je veux du lait." (I want some milk.)

2. Uncountable Nouns

   • For nouns that cannot be counted individually, like liquids, grains, and abstract concepts.

   • Example: "Nous avons de la chance." (We are lucky.)

3. After Negation

   • When a sentence is negated, the partitive article changes to de or d'.

   • Example: "Il n'y a pas de sucre." (There is no sugar.)

   • Example: "Elle ne veut pas d'eau." (She does not want any water.)

4. With Certain Verbs

   • Commonly used with verbs like vouloir (to want), manger (to eat), boire (to drink), acheter (to buy), etc.

   • Example: "Nous achetons des légumes." (We are buying some vegetables)