In French, both definite and indefinite articles must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.
Definite Articles
Below are the definite articles in French, equivalent to “the” in English:
| Singular | Plural | |
| Before a masculine or feminine noun that begins with a vowel or a mute “h” | l’ | les |
| Before a masculine noun that does not begin with a vowel or a mute “h” | le | |
| Before a feminine noun that does not begin with a vowel or a mute “h” | la |
If an adjective precedes the noun, the definite article is adjusted according to the beginning of the adjective. For example, “l’ami” means “the friend,” whereas “le bon ami” means “the good friend.” Notice the change in the definite article from “l’” to “le.”
Mute “h” vs. Aspirated “h”
Notice that only a mute “h” takes the definite article “l’” in singular form, e.g., “l’homme” /lom/ (the man), and a liaison is applied in plural form, i.e., “les hommes” /lez-om/ (the men).
On the other hand, an aspirated “h” takes the definite article “le” in singular form, e.g., “le héros” /lə e-яo/ (the hero), and a liaison is prohibited in plural form, i.e., “les héros” /le e-яo/ (the heroes), not /lez e-яo/.
Indefinite Articles
The singular definite articles “un” (masculine) and “une” (feminine) in French are equivalent to “a” or “an” in English, whereas “des” is used with plurals and often translated as “some.” The table below summarizes the indefinite articles in French:
| Singular | Plural | |
| Before a masculine noun | un | des |
| Before a feminine noun | une |
Use of the Definite Article in French versus English
There are cases in which French uses the definite article when it would be omitted in English, such as:
1. Abstract concepts or speaking in a general sense, e.g., “La science est importante” (Science is important), “Les animaux sont intelligents” (Animals are intelligent), etc.
2. Languages and nationalities, e.g., “le français” (French), “les allemands” (Germans), etc. Exceptionally, we drop the definite article in French when the language name is an object of some verbs, e.g., “Je parle français” (I speak French), or after the preposition “en,” e.g., “écrit en français” (written in French).
3. Days of the week when referring to a repeated action or habit on the same day of every week, e.g., “Je vais à la gym le jeudi” (I go to the gym on Thursdays). If we do not refer to a repeated action, we do not use the definite article, e.g., “J’arrive lundi” (I arrive on Monday).
4. Body parts are often preceded with the definite instead of the possessive pronoun if the possessor is the same as the subject of the sentence, e.g., “Il se lave la main” (He washes his hand), “Je me brosse les cheveux” (I brush my hair), etc.
5. Before each noun in the case of multiple nouns, e.g., “le père et la mère” (the father and mother), “les chiens et les chats” (the dogs and cats), etc. Although you can use one definite article in English to refer to all nouns, the grammatically correct way in French is to repeat the definite article for each noun.
It is common to omit the definite article before the seasons of the year: “en été” (in summer), “en hiver” (in winter), and “en automne” (in autumn), but we maintain the definite article in “au printemps” (in spring).
Next: Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives
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