The indefinite article in French. Article in French

The article is a functional part of speech in French. This part of speech carries information about the gender, case and number of the noun, and also indicates whether the subject has been discussed before or is mentioned for the first time.

There are two types of articles in French: the definite (un, une, des) and the indefinite (le, la, les). The article is not translated into Russian and is placed before the noun. If an adjective precedes a noun, the article is placed before the adjective.

Indefinite article

Initially, the article had the meaning “one of many” and denotes an unknown object. The article indicates the gender of the noun, and, as can be seen from the table, the article plural used for nouns of any kind:

So, indefinite article used when you name an item that belongs to some class of items, for example: C'est un livre.(This book is one of many, some kind, we do not specify which one).

The indefinite article is used only with countable nouns in singular.

Also, the indefinite article can mean “one”: J'ai une sour.— I have one sister.

The item mentioned for the first time must also be used with the indefinite article.

If a noun begins with a vowel or silent h, when pronounced, the final consonant article and the initial vowel of the noun are linked, for example: un homme [enom] - a person, des hommes [dezom] - people.

In some cases, the indefinite article can be replaced by the preposition de. This occurs after verbs in negative sentences(except for the verb etre), for example: Je n'ai pas de sour. And also if there is an adjective before a plural noun, for example: Ils ont de grandes chambres.— They have large rooms.

The indefinite article is also usually used after phrases "c'est" And “ce sont.”

If this is not the first time you are talking about a subject, you will need a definite article.

Definite article

The definite article indicates a specific, already known object, and also shows the gender of the noun. If a noun begins with a vowel or silent h, the final vowel of the singular article is truncated. For example: l'enfant.

The definite article is used:
1. To designate a previously mentioned object or person. C'est un livre. Le livre est intéressant.- This is a book. The book is interesting.
2. To denote a subject that becomes known thanks to additional information or context. Elle est la sour de Pierre.- She is Pierre's sister.
3. With dates: le 8 mars– March 8.
4. Before geographical names: Les Alpes- Alps.

In some cases the article is not used at all.

1. If a possessive or demonstrative adjective is used before a noun: C'est mon livre.- This is my book.
2. Before nouns denoting occupation, position, profession or nationality: Je suis médecin.- I am a doctor. Il est Anglais.- He's English.
3. Before city names: J'habite à Paris.— I live in Paris.
4. With the names of the seasons: l'hiver- winter.

In addition to the definite and indefinite articles, in French there is such a thing as a partial or partitive article. You will learn about it in one of the following lessons, but for now, do a few exercises to consolidate the topic.

Lesson assignments

Exercise 1. Translate into French:

1. We live in London. 2. I have a brother and a sister. 3. This is a girl. This girl is beautiful. 4. He is a teacher. 5. She bought a car. 6. She is an actress. 7. I am Polish. 8. This is a big house. 9. I don't have a book. 10. I'm looking for a way.

Answer 1.
1. Nous habitons à Londres. 2. J'ai un frère et une sour. 3. C'est une femme. La femme est belle. 4. Il est professeur. 5. Elle a achete une voiture. 6. Elle est actrice. 7. Je suis Polonais. 8. C'est une grande maison. 9. Je n'ai pas de livre. 10. Je cherche la route.

The indefinite article has the following forms:

un- For masculine singular

une- for feminine singular

des- for plurals of both genders

The indefinite article is used only before countable nouns. He defines the subject as unknown, which has not yet been specified, which is spoken of for the first time.

In Russian we can say about a noun with an indefinite article some, any, any, one of many:

Un homme est là qui vous attend. - It's waiting for you there some person.

Donnez-moi un livre sur le sport. - Give me some book about sports.

Tout à coup des cris se sont entendus. - Suddenly they heard screams.

Use of the indefinite article:

• singular ( un, une) can be used to express singularity (one):

Dans notre groupe il y a un garçon et sept filles. - In our group one boy and seven girls.

Tout le monde est là? Non, une personne est absente. - Is everyone here? No, one person No.

• in the plural ( des) serves to designate an indefinite set of objects (several, some):

Il y a des bonbons dans le vase. - There is one in the vase candies.

La foule écoutait. Des femmes pleuraient. — Crowd listened. Some women were crying.

• serves to classify an object, i.e. assigning it to a certain class of homogeneous objects. Usually used with turns c'est... And ce sont...:

Est-ce un stylo? — Oui, c’ est un stylo. - Non, ce n'est pas un stylo, c’ est un crayon.

With the same meaning, the indefinite article is used in various definitions and comparisons:

L'article est un mot-util. — The article is a function word

Il me parle comme à un enfant. “He talks to me like a child.”

Le fer est un metal. — Iron is a metal.

• serves to introduce into speech a subject that is new for a given situation:

Non loin de l'entrée j'ai aperçu un taxi.— Not far from the entrance I noticed Taxi.

Quand il sortit de l'hotel, une femme S'élança à sa rencontre. — When he left the hotel, she rushed towards him some woman.

• often used after a verb avoir, and also after impersonal constructions il y a, il existe, etc.:

Il a un père (une mère, des frères, des disques français, etc.)

Près de maison il y a un cinema— Near the house there is cinema.

Il existe des opinions différentes. — There are various opinions.

• serves to characterize an object, highlighting its various features. In this case, the noun is usually accompanied by an adjective or prepositional noun without an article, which performs the same function:

J'ai vu ce film. C'est un film magnifique.— I saw this film. This is a great film.

Vous avez reconnu la voix? Non, mais c'était une voix de femme.-Did you recognize the voice? No, but it was a woman's voice.

L'enfant regardait l'oiseau, un oiseau grand et beau. — The child looked at the bird, a large and beautiful bird.

• often used in exclamatory sentences, if the definition seems to be left unfinished:

Tu as un appetit! - What an appetite you have!

Ça pris des proportions! - It has reached such proportions!

Join us onFacebook!

See also:

We suggest taking tests online:

There are only 8 articles, and you need to learn to understand what information does an article convey about a noun?. It is important to be able to distinguish two types articles.

Two categories of articles:
definite and indefinite

Special forms of definite articles le, la, les

Examples of using articles

Exercise

The exercise suggests listen and choose the correct answer (at the end of the exercise you can correct mistakes and listen to the phrases again); The emphasis is placed on the choice between the definite and indefinite articles. You will get to know two and four better in individual lessons(in the exercises for them it will be possible choose or insert required article).

Do the exercise

For feminine nouns you will need to make your choice: une, de la or la.

With articles des And les simpler, since you don’t have to think about gender, and they are placed only before plural nouns. numbers (countable). If we are talking about quantity, then choose des(“buy some candy”), and if about a subject in general or known to the interlocutor, then we’ll focus on les(“remove the candy from the table”, i.e. all those that are on the table).

So, the use of the article depends on the context

If the choice of number and gender of the article is predetermined, then The “rules” by which one must choose the article category (un, du or le?) depend on the context .

Reading texts will help to better understand in what cases the definite or indefinite article is used: in the texts the difference between un and le, une and la, des and les is better visible. When performing, keep in mind that phrases are inevitably taken out of context, so you need to be able to think through the situation.

Requires consumption indefinite article phrases that we use to describe (the interlocutor does not yet know about the objects):

• c"est - This...
• il y a - there is, there is
• c"estune table - this is (some kind of) table(one item from the homogeneous class)
• sur le bureau il y a un ordinateur - on the table (known to the interlocutor) there is (some kind of) computer
• dans ma chambre il y a une pursuit - there is (some) chair in my room
• j"ai une voiture - I have (some kind of) car

However, if the item there is a definition(for example, whose is it - the genitive case in French is conveyed using the preposition de), then we use the definite article:

• c"est la voiture de mon fils - this is my son's car

The tables below provide some additional information and nuances of the use of articles, and also talk about the truncated and merged forms of the articles le, la, les.
It is highly recommended to do exercises(see menu).

Two types of articles:
uncertain and definite

1. Indefinite articles are placed before nouns that are used for the first time in conversation or have a special characteristic and indicate:

1. un, une, des Indefinite articles (with examples)

1 . The indefinite article can be considered as a numeral : one , one , some (for both genders). In Russian, we often omit these words, since we can determine singular or plural by the noun itself. the number and gender will be told to us by the endings.

In the table below, note that in French:

• endings of nouns do not uniquely determine gender (all words end in -e);
• plural ending ( -s) is not pronounced (most often).

2 . The indefinite article can denote objects, people, about which first mentioned in this context : "some kind ", "some kind ", "some ".

3 . An object already familiar to us may have special quality :

• un soleil rouge se lève à l"horizon - red sun rises on the horizon.

2. le, la, les Definite articles (with examples)

There are only 3 definite articles:

1 . In the most general case, definite articles le , la , les stand for " the same one ", "the same one ", "those same ones ", that is, objects, people that have already been discussed or this context allows us to clearly understand what (who) we are talking about .

• ferme la porte - close the door(the same... - which the interlocutor knows about or is pointed out to him)
• donne-moi le style - give me a pen(the same one...)
• mets les livres sur la table - put the books on the table(the same ones on the same one...)
• le livre est intéressant - interesting book(the one we're talking about)
• la mer est calme - the sea is calm(the same thing we see)
• les bananes sont mures - ripe bananas(the same ones that you bought/brought...)

2 . We will also use the definite article for one of a kind items - moon, sun, right bank (it’s the only one by the river! like the left):

• le soleil brille - the sun is shining.

3 . When the word is taken in its most general meaning(for Russian speakers this is the most difficult case to understand, i.e. it requires maximum attention from beginners):

• le chien est l" ami de l" homme - dog- man's friend.

* l" - a “truncated” article (without a vowel) is used instead le And la, if the word begins with a vowel sound; before a series of words with the letter “h” the article may not lose the vowel,

• l" enfant - child;
• l" histoire - story.

Un or Une / Le or la ?

If you have decided on the choice of article category (definite/indefinite), then choosing an article for the masculine or feminine gender is a technical task:

• you need to remember the gender of the noun (use dictionaries and when reading texts pay attention to, which also show gender and number).▲ Go to exercise

  Get acquainted with some features of the use of French articles:

Many Russian speakers who want to learn French often have difficulty learning the article. This is not surprising, if only because in Russian, and in most Slavic languages, there are no articles and at first it can be difficult to understand why they are needed.
There's really nothing complicated.
As you know, the French language has the grammatical categories of gender and number. Nouns and adjectives can be feminine or masculine; singular and plural. It is the articles that help us determine what gender and number a particular noun is.
Articles are definite and indefinite. Indefinite articles include “un” the masculine article (un homme), “une” the feminine article (une femme), “des” the plural article for both genders (des hommes, des femmes). Indefinite articles are used in the following cases:
1. when a person or object is mentioned for the first time in a given context: un garçon entre dans la salle—(some previously unknown to us) boy enters the hall.
2. 2. The plural article “des” indicates an indefinite number of certain objects: Je vois des livres sur la vitrine - I see books in the window, but I don’t know what kind of books they are and how many there are.
3. 3. If there is an adjective before the noun that characterizes it, then the indefinite article is placed before this adjective: c’est une belle femme - this is a beautiful woman.
a. It is important to remember the existence of the definite article, as it can often affect the meaning of a sentence. There are 3 definite articles: “le” is a masculine article (le pont); “la” is a feminine article (la fenêtre); "les" is the plural article for both genders (les ponts, les fenêtres).
b. The definite article is used in the following cases:
c. 1. Before a noun that was mentioned earlier in the context: Un garçon entre la salle. Le garçon cherche son ami. - (some) boy enters the hall. (same boy) is looking for his friend. We use the definite article because we already understand what kind of boy we are talking about.
d. 2. Before singular nouns: Le ciel est bleu. - The sky is blue. Since we have one sky, we put the definite article.
e. 3. To designate persons or objects in a given situation: les enfants de cette femme - the children of this woman. Although they were not mentioned before, we already understand that these are not some incomprehensible children, but specific ones, so we put the definite article.
f. 4. Before the surname in the plural, most often to designate the whole family: les Poirots—The Poirot Family.
g. 5. Before the names of countries: la France, le Canada.
h. 6. Before the days of the week to indicate that an event occurs regularly on the same day: le samedi je vais à la campagne. - On Saturdays I go out of town.
i. The articles “le”, “la” can be truncated; they take the form “l’” before nouns starting with a vowel or with H (l’enfant, l’hiver).

In French there is a concept of a continuous article. Definite articles “le”, “les” can merge with the prepositions that precede them. In particular, this applies to the prepositions à and de.
Consider the following diagrams:
1. A + le= au. Je parle au garçon - I'm talking to a boy.
2. à + les = aux .Il parle aux amis - He is talking to friends.
3. De + le = du. Le livre du garçon is a boy's book.
4. De + les = des. La visite des parents - visit of parents.
5. Remember: The feminine article never merges with prepositions: Je parle à la petite fille - I'm talking to a little girl; Les musées de la France - museums in France.
6. In addition to the indefinite and definite articles, there is also a partial article. It is used with uncountable nouns such as water, tea, sugar, salt, etc. And also with abstract concepts, for example: happiness, love, etc.
7. There are the following forms of the partial article:
8. “du” for masculine nouns ((Je prends du thé);
9. “de la” for masculine nouns (Elle prend de la salade)
10. “de l’” for nouns starting with a vowel or silent H (Tu prend de l’eau)
11. Partial article means that you do not take the whole object, but only some part of it. It replaces the indefinite article for uncountable nouns.
12. Thus, if you want to drink tea, you say “Je voudrais prendre du thé”, but in no case “le thé” because that would mean that you want to drink all the tea in the world. The use of a partial article indicates a part of something whole. If you say J'aime le chocolat", it will mean that you like chocolate in general. But if you want to take chocolate, then you should use the partial article “du”: Je veux du chocolat.
13. The partial article does not have a plural form because uncountable nouns do not change in numbers.
There are a number of set expressions in which only a partial article is used, for example, faire du sport, faire de la musique, etc.