1. to revise the rules of definite articles in French
2. to practise using these articles in simple sentences
A1 - niveau découverte (beginner)
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:
1. 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)
2. la is used in front of a feminine noun.
e.g: la table (the table), la chaise (the chair), la trousse (the pencil case)
3. 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)
4. 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.
Words which end in -e* (75% of the time) 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. Also, most words ending in -age, -ege or -isme are also masculine, such as le nettoyage (the cleaning) ; l'organisme (the organism).