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A noun takes an article: le, la, les for what is known, un, une, des for what is new. Things in general take the definite article: J’aime le café. J’adore les fraises.

Summary

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PointRuleExampleEnglishLevel
Definitele / la / l’ / lesLe livre est sur la table.The book is on the table.
Indefiniteun / une / desJ’ai un chat.I have a cat.
Vowell’ before a vowel or a mute hl’école / l’amithe school / the friend
Contraction with àà + le → au, à + les → auxJe vais au café. / Elle parle aux enfants.I'm going to the café. / She is talking to the children.
Contraction with dede + le → du, de + les → desle livre du professeur / la voiture des voisinsthe teacher's book / the neighbours' car
Known thingdefinite: both people know the thingJ’ai un chat. Le chat est noir.I have a cat. The cat is black.
In generaldefinite after aimer, adorer, détester, préférerJ’aime le café.I like coffee.
New thingindefinite: one thing or several, not specifiedJ’ai des amis à Paris.I have friends in Paris.
The bodythe definite article in place of the possessiveElle ferme les yeux.She closes her eyes.
No articlesans or avec + abstract noun: no articleUn café sans sucre.A coffee without sugar.
Trapà le becomes au, à les becomes auxJe vais au cinéma.I'm going to the cinema.
Trapa noun in general keeps its article after aimerJ’aime les chats.I like cats.

Overview

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  • A noun almost always comes with an article. Le stylo est rouge. / J’ai une gomme.The pen is red. / I have an eraser.
  • The article agrees with the noun in gender and number. le livre / la table / les livresthe book / the table / the books
  • For the gender of nouns, see Noun Gender.
  • For the plural of nouns, see Plurals.
  • du, de la and de l’ for an amount, and pas de: see Partitives and Quantities.

Form: the articles

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ArticleMasculineFemininePluralLevel
Definitele livrela tableles livres
Definite before a vowell’amil’écoleles amis
Indefiniteun livreune tabledes livres
  • Before a vowel or a mute h, le and la become l’. l’homme / l’eauthe man / the water
  • Des is the plural of un and une. un ami / des amisa friend / friends
  • For the aspirated h (le héros) and the liaison of les and des, see Liaison and Elision.

Form: the contractions

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FormExamplesEnglishLevel
à + le → auJe vais au marché. / Au revoir !I'm going to the market. / Goodbye!
à + les → auxElle parle aux enfants.She is talking to the children.
de + le → duC’est le livre du professeur.It's the teacher's book.
de + les → desVoici la voiture des voisins.Here is the neighbours' car.
à la, à l’, de la, de l’: no contractionJe vais à la gare. / Il arrive de l’école.I'm going to the station. / He is coming from school.
  • Des is either an indefinite article or the contraction of de + les. Elle a des amis. / Voici la liste des élèves.She has friends. / Here is the list of the pupils.

Use: the definite article

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UseExampleEnglishLevel
A thing both people knowFerme la porte, s’il te plaît.Close the door, please.
A thing already mentionedJ’ai un chat. Le chat est noir.I have a cat. The cat is black.
A unique thingLe soleil brille. / La lune est belle.The sun is shining. / The moon is beautiful.
A language you studyJ’apprends le français.I am learning French.
A part of the body, in place of the possessiveElle ferme les yeux. / Il lève la main.She closes her eyes. / He raises his hand.
The price per unit: “a kilo”, “each”Les pommes coûtent deux euros le kilo.The apples cost two euros a kilo.
  • After parler, the language takes no article. Je parle français et anglais.I speak French and English.
  • For le lundi and the other days, see Days, Months and Dates.
  • For countries (la France, le Canada) and their prepositions, see Cities and Countries.

Use: the indefinite article and no article

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UseExampleEnglishLevel
A new thing in the conversationIl y a un chat dans le jardin.There is a cat in the garden.
The number oneJ’ai un frère et deux sœurs.I have one brother and two sisters.
Several things, not specifiedJ’ai des amis à Paris.I have friends in Paris.
sans or avec + abstract nounUn café sans sucre. / Elle répond avec plaisir.A coffee without sugar. / She answers with pleasure.

Compare: general and specific

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SituationArticleExampleEnglishLevel
aimer, adorer, détester, préférer: the thing in generalle / la / l’ / lesJ’aime le café. / Il déteste les chiens.I like coffee. / He hates dogs.
manger, acheter, prendre, avoir: one thing or several, mentioned for the first timeun / une / desJe mange une pomme. / J’achète des pommes.I'm eating an apple. / I'm buying apples.
a specific thing you can identifyle / la / l’ / lesJe prends le train de huit heures.I'm taking the eight o'clock train.

Typical errors

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WrongRightRuleLevel
Le ami de Paul est ici.L’ami de Paul est ici.le becomes l’ before a vowel
Je vais à le cinéma.Je vais au cinéma.à + le becomes au
Il parle de les enfants.Il parle des enfants.de + les becomes des
J’aime café.J’aime le café.a noun in general takes the article after aimer: j’aime le café, unlike “I like coffee”
J’ai mal à ma tête.J’ai mal à la tête.a part of the body takes the definite article, not a possessive: la tête, not “my head”
Un café sans le sucre.Un café sans sucre.no article after sans: sans sucre

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