Download this guide as a PDF

French indefinite articles

LESSON OBJECTIVES

• To learn about the indefinite articles in French

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

• What is an indefinite article? A word used to designate an object which is not specific.
• In French, the indefinite articles are:
  • un (masculine singular)
  • une (feminine singular).
  • des (plural)

PART 2: UNE & UN

EXAMPLES OF WORDS USING "UNE":

• Tip: many words ending with e are feminine, but there are exceptions. See examples below.

• une table (a table)
• une carotte (a carrot)
• une lampe (a lamp)
• une flûte (a flute)
• une caméra (a camera)
• une télévision (a television)
• une fleur (a flower)

EXAMPLES OF WORDS USING "UN":

• un éléphant (an elephant)
• un train (a train)
• un car (a coach)
• un chariot (a trolley)
• un robinet (a tap)
• un livre (a book)

PART 3: HOW TO USE "DES"

• des is used in front of a plural noun.
• It expresses an unknown quantity and can be translated by "some" in English, or not included at all. However, in French, we do need the article.

• Example:
  Il y a des pommes sur la table.
  There are apples on the table.
  There are some apples on the table.

PART 4: A LITTLE GAME

Guess whether the word below should be used with un or une:

• ordinateur (a computer)
• crayon (a pencil)
• pain (a bread)
• photo (a photograph)
• feuille (a leaf)
• sofa (a sofa)
• araignée (a spider)

Answer: un ordinateur, un crayon, un pain, une photo, une feuille, un sofa, une araignée.

If you wanted to say "some computers, some crayons", etc., you would need to add "des": "des ordinateurs", "des crayons", etc.

PART 5: ANOTHER GAME

Transform the following words into their plural:

• un parapluie (an umbrella)
• un banc (a bench)
• un vélo (a bicycle)
• une orange (an orange)
• une balle (a ball)

Answers: des parapluies, des bancs, des vélos, des oranges, des balles

PART 6: SUMMARY

• un = masculine singular
• une = feminine singular
• des = plural