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Definite articles

PRACTICE

Objectifs de la leçon

1. to revise the rules around definite articles in French
2. to practise using these articles in simple sentences

Niveau

A1 - niveau découverte (beginner)

Rappel

A definite article is a word used to define a specific object or person.

In English, there is one definite article: the.

In French, there are four:

• le is used in front of a masculine noun.
  e.g: le cinéma (the cinema), le sac (the bag), le vélo (the bicycle), le stylo (the pen)

• la is used in front of a feminine noun.
  e.g: la table (the table), la chaise (the chair), la trousse (the pencil case)

• l' is used in front of a noun starting with a vowel or an h, regardless of its gender.
  e.g: l'arbre (the tree), l'hôpital (the hospital), l'école (the school)

• les is used in front of a plural noun, regardless of its gender.
  e.g: les tables (the tables), les chaises (the chairs), les arbres (the trees)

The article agrees in gender and number with the noun it qualifies.

Masculin ou féminin ?

Words which end in -e* or -ion are in majority feminine.
e.g: la nature (nature), la bouteille (the bottle), la tasse (the mug), la nation (the nation), l'organisation (the organisation)

Words which end in anything else are in majority masculine*.

*Unfortunately, there are words ending in -e which are masculine, such as le livre (the book), l'arbre (the tree), le téléphone (the telephone). Besides, most words ending in -age, -ège or -isme, such as le nettoyage (the cleaning), le manège (the merry-go-round), l'organisme (the organism), are also masculine.