The French Definite Article



 There are more French definite articles than English ones, and they are used more often.

Because articles determine the gender of nouns, it is important to memorize them.

In this lesson we are going to see the different ways French definite articles are used.

In French every noun has a gender, so each item is either masculine or feminine.

The definite article which precede a masculine noun is le, and the definite article which precede a feminine noun is la.

eg: le sac (bag)
eg: la fleur (flower)

" l' " is used for nouns commencing with a vowel or a mute H, regardless of gender.

eg: l'école (school)
eg: l'hotel (hotel)

There are some exceptions: le héro, le huit, le onze, le haricot, la hollande, la haine

The plural definite article is les

eg: les chaises (chairs)
eg: les outils (tools)

Some nouns have two genders

eg: un enfant, une enfant (child)
eg : un camarade, une camarade (peer)
eg: un malade, une malade (an ill person)

and also some professions

eg: un concierge, une concierge (porter)
eg: un dentiste, une dentiste (dentist)
eg: un collégue, une collégue (colleague)

Some nouns change meaning when they change gender

eg: le livre (book)
eg: la livre (money or weight)

eg: le somme (nap)
eg: la somme (sum)


The definite article is used with:

Specific nouns

eg: le verre est sur la table (the glass is on the table)

eg: la valise est lourde (the suitcase is heavy)

Nouns in the general sense

eg: le travail est bon pour la santé (Work is good for your health)
eg: l'homme est un être complexe (man is a complex being)

Abstract nouns

eg: l'amitié est inestimable (friendship is priceless)

eg: la beauté ne fait pas tout (beauty doesn't do everything)

Topics, subjects

eg: la mondialisation est un mythe (globalization is a myth)

eg: il étudie l'histoire à l'université ( he studies history at university)

tip: name of languages are all masculine

eg: le français, le russe, le chinois

Nouns of substances

eg: la bière est une boisson alcoolisée (beer is an alcoholic beverage)

eg: l'or est un métal précieux (gold id a precious metal)

Group of people, animals and thing

eg: les fleurs font un cadeau parfait (flowers make a perfect gift)

eg: les ouvriers dans cette usine travaillent 10 heures par jour (workers in this factory work 10 hours a day)

eg: les chiens sont les amis de l’homme ( dogs are men's friend)
 
Days of the week when it expresses a habitual occurrence.

eg: le lundi je joue au football (on  mondays I play football)

eg: je vais chez ma Grand-Mère le dimanche après-midi ( I go to my Grandmother on sunday afternoons)

But

eg: je travaille mardi (it is not habitual so there is no article)
                                                  I am working Tuesday

eg: je pars en voyage samedi (it is not habitual so there is no article)
                                             I am going on holiday Saturday

Dates

eg: je pars le 18 avril (I am leaving on the 18th of april)

eg: elle retourne le 20 juin (she is coming back on the 20th of juin)

Numbers
 
eg: mon numéro de téléphone est le 37 97 60 (My telephone number is 37 97 60)

eg: le numéro gagnant est le 44 (the winning number is 44)

Titles

eg: Monsieur le Directeur (Mr the Director)

eg: madame le Maire (Mrs the Mairess)

However, where kings and queens are concerned, the French leave the article out

eg: François I ( François the First)
François Premier

eg: Henry IIIV (Henry the Eighth)
Henry Huit
 
With "Monsieur"

eg: le monsieur du premier revient demain ( the man on the 1st floor comes back tomorrow)

but the article is never used with "madame" and "mademoiselle"

Quantity associated with price

eg:  les pommes sont à 3 euros le kilo ( the apples are 3 euros for a kilo)

eg: l'essence vaut 2 euros 20 le litre (petrol cost 2 euros 20 per litre)
 
Body parts

eg: elle baisse la tête (she lows her head)

eg: je me lave les mains ( I wash my hands)

Countries, regions, islands, mountains and rivers

eg: la France est un joli pays
(france is a beautiful country)

 eg: la Cornouaille se situe dans le sud-est de l'Angleterre
(Cornwall is situated in the north-east of England)

 eg: la Corse est une destination touristique
(Corsica is a tourist place)

eg: le mont Blanc est le plus haut sommet d'Europe occidentale
eg: Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe

Possessive pronouns

eg: ce n'est pas ton livre, c'est le mien (it is not your book, it is mine)

eg: il est de retour parmi les siens (he is back among his love ones)

Superlatives

eg: c'est l'endroit le plus dangereux de la région( it is the most dangerous place in the area)
eg: le Mont Blanc est le plus haut sommet d'Europe Occidentale (Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe)

Repetition
 
In French, the article usually has to be repeated before each noun
eg: il faut que tu redonnes le cahier, les stylos et la trousse
eg: mets l'assiette, le verre et le bol sur la table

Tips: - While pronouncing the " l' " with a noun, we must link the two, to make it sound as if it is just one word
eg: l'étoile sounds like (létoile)

- The final consonant of “ les “ is pronounced " z " in front of nouns starting with a vowel or a mute " h ".

eg: les " z" artistes
eg: les " z " enfants

but
les héros
les haricots