# Articles

https://langs123.com/en/french/nom-determinants/articles/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Definite | **le** / **la** / **l’** / **les** | **Le** livre est sur **la** table. | The book is on the table. |
| Indefinite | **un** / **une** / **des** | J’ai **un** chat. | I have a cat. |
| Vowel | **l’** before a vowel or a mute h | l’école / l’ami | the school / the friend |
| Contraction with à | **à** + **le** → **au**, **à** + **les** → **aux** | Je vais **au** café. / Elle parle **aux** enfants. | I'm going to the café. / She is talking to the children. |
| Contraction with de | **de** + **le** → **du**, **de** + **les** → **des** | le livre **du** professeur / la voiture **des** voisins | the teacher's book / the neighbours' car |
| Known thing | definite: both people know the thing | J’ai un chat. **Le** chat est noir. | I have a cat. The cat is black. |
| In general | definite after **aimer**, **adorer**, **détester**, **préférer** | J’aime **le** café. | I like coffee. |
| New thing | indefinite: one thing or several, not specified | J’ai **des** amis à Paris. | I have friends in Paris. |
| The body | the definite article in place of the possessive | Elle ferme **les** yeux. | She closes her eyes. |
| No article | **sans** or **avec** + abstract noun: no article | Un café **sans** sucre. | A coffee without sugar. |
| Trap | **à le** becomes **au**, **à les** becomes **aux** | Je vais **au** cinéma. | I'm going to the cinema. |
| Trap | a noun in general keeps its article after **aimer** | J’aime **les** chats. | I like cats. |

## Overview

- 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** livres (the 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

| Article | Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Definite | **le** livre | **la** table | **les** livres |
| Definite before a vowel | l’ami | l’école | **les** amis |
| Indefinite | **un** livre | **une** table | **des** livres |

- Before a vowel or a mute h, **le** and **la** become **l’**. l’homme / l’eau (the man / the water)
- **Des** is the plural of **un** and **une**. un ami / **des** amis (a friend / friends)
- For the aspirated h (le héros) and the liaison of **les** and **des**, see Liaison and Elision.

## Form: the contractions

| Form | Examples |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **à** + **le** → **au** | Je vais **au** marché. / **Au** revoir ! | I'm going to the market. / Goodbye! |
| **à** + **les** → **aux** | Elle parle **aux** enfants. | She is talking to the children. |
| **de** + **le** → **du** | C’est le livre **du** professeur. | It's the teacher's book. |
| **de** + **les** → **des** | Voici la voiture **des** voisins. | Here is the neighbours' car. |
| **à la**, **à l’**, **de la**, **de l’**: no contraction | Je 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A thing both people know | Ferme **la** porte, s’il te plaît. | Close the door, please. |
| A thing already mentioned | J’ai un chat. **Le** chat est noir. | I have a cat. The cat is black. |
| A unique thing | **Le** soleil brille. / **La** lune est belle. | The sun is shining. / The moon is beautiful. |
| A language you study | J’apprends **le** français. | I am learning French. |
| A part of the body, in place of the possessive | Elle 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A new thing in the conversation | Il y a **un** chat dans le jardin. | There is a cat in the garden. |
| The number one | J’ai **un** frère et deux sœurs. | I have one brother and two sisters. |
| Several things, not specified | J’ai **des** amis à Paris. | I have friends in Paris. |
| **sans** or **avec** + abstract noun | Un café **sans** sucre. / Elle répond **avec** plaisir. | A coffee without sugar. / She answers with pleasure. |

- A job or a nationality after **être** takes no article: see Être and avoir.
- In the negative, **un**, **une** and **des** become **de**: see Partitives and Quantities.
- For **c’est un** and **c’est une**, see C’est and Il est.

## Compare: general and specific

| Situation | Article | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **aimer**, **adorer**, **détester**, **préférer**: the thing in general | **le** / **la** / **l’** / **les** | J’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 time | **un** / **une** / **des** | Je mange **une** pomme. / J’achète **des** pommes. | I'm eating an apple. / I'm buying apples. |
| a specific thing you can identify | **le** / **la** / **l’** / **les** | Je prends **le** train de huit heures. | I'm taking the eight o'clock train. |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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** |