French Definite Article
French Definite Article
Les Articles Définis/French Definite Articles
Unlike English, French has gender for every word. Depending on the gender, number and first alphabet of the word we have 4 forms of French definite articles.
Forms of French definite articles and their usages –
Le – Masculine singular noun.
La – Feminine singular noun.
Les – If the noun is plural and masculine or feminine.
L’ – The noun starts with a vowel and masculine singular or feminine singular.
Now let’s take examples :
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular |
Le chien (Dog) | La table (Table) |
Le chauffeur (Driver) | La chaussure (Shoe) |
Le salon (Drawing Room) | La chaise (Chair) |
In French, the pronunciation of both singular and plural noun is the same. Therefore we have to use ‘Les’ the plural definite article to distinguish the singular and plural form. Once you will listen to the audio file the concept will get more clear.
Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
Les chiens (Dogs) | Les tables (Tables) |
Les chauffeurs (Drivers) | Les chaussures (Shoes) |
Les salons (Lounges) | Les chaises (Chairs) |
Whether the noun is masculine or feminine if the first letter of the noun is a vowel or a silent ‘H’ then ‘Le’ and ‘La’ will become L’.
Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular |
L’homme (Man) | L’horloge (Clock) |
L’avion (Plane) | L’odour (Smell) |
L’ordinateur (Computer) | L’argent (Money) |
