Unlock The French Definite Articles

Author: Camille Chevalier

There are some little words that are everywhere in French: the French definite articles le, la, l’ and les are among them. There are so many articles in French: when do you use the definite article? What about its “mutant” contracted forms? Here are my explanations.

Key Takeaways


The Building Blocks of French

French definite articles are fundamental to grammar. They serve as the basis for expressing specificity and clarity in your sentences. Understanding how to use them correctly will enhance your French language skills significantly.

Beyond the Basics: The Nuances of Definite Articles

While the core rules for using definite articles are relatively straightforward, the details are in the nuances. Explore how definite articles can convey possession, introduce general concepts, and interact with verbs to provide different contexts.

The Art of Contractions

Contractions are a distinctive feature of French grammar. Understanding how definite articles combine with prepositions to form contractions will improve your fluency. Using contractions in your conversations will make you sound more natural and less like a book.

Real-World Applications

To truly master definite articles, itā€™s essential to study them in the context of real-world scenarios. Engage in conversations, practice writing, and listen to native French speakers to reinforce your understanding and develop fluency.

Now letā€™s see how to unlock French definite articles in depthā€¦

1 ā€“ Forms of the French Definite Articles

The French definite article has four forms:

  1. Le (masculine singular),
  2. La (feminine singular),
  3. Lā€™ (followed by a vowel),
  4. Les (plural).

Unlike the French indefinite articles, the French definite articles remain the same in the negative: pas le, pas la, pas lā€™, pas les.

Now letā€™s see how we use the French definite articles.

2 ā€“ Definite Articles To Describe a Specific Thing

To describe a specific thing, French uses the definite articles. Just like English uses ā€œtheā€.

  1. Je cherche le tĆ©lĆ©phone. (Iā€™m looking for the phone)
  2. OĆ¹ sont les toilettes ? (Where is the bathroom)
  3. Je ne travaille pas Ć  lā€™ordinateur. (Iā€™m not working on the computer)
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3 ā€“ Use Definite Articles To Show Possession

In English, you have a specific construction to show possession. You add an apostrophe and an S.

  • Here is my sisterā€™s house.

In French, this construction doesnā€™t exist at all. You have to use the alternate English construction: the house of my sister.

  • Voici la maison de ma soeur.

4 ā€“ French Definite Articles With General Concepts

The definite article is also used with general concepts, where in English youā€™ll use no article. This concept is more difficult for English speakers because you have to add a word where English uses none, so itā€™s important that you spend time to understand why French uses an article there.

If you have no article in English, you could be omitting a word, like ā€œsomeā€ (which you donā€™t always say). If you can say ā€œsomeā€, it is likely to be a French partitive article (du, de la, de lā€™, des), not a definite article.

Try adding ā€œin generalā€ to the end of your sentence, and if it works, use the definite articleā€¦

  1. Je nā€™aime pas le lait .(Milk, in general)
  2. Les FranƧais sont sympathiques. (French people, as a collectivity, so in general)
  3. La patience est une qualitƩ utile. (Patience, in general)

The best way to get used to all these little words is to study them in context: check out my French audio books.

5 ā€“ Definite Article Often Used After Certain Verbs

The definite article is often used after certain verbs :

  1.  aimer ā€“ to like, love enjoy
  2. adorer ā€“ to love, worship
  3. admirer ā€“ to admire
  4. detester ā€“ to hate
  5. prĆ©fĆ©rer ā€“ to prefer, like X more than Y
  6. etcā€¦

Since these verbs introduce nouns taken in a general sense.

  • Jā€™aime le thĆ©Ć¢tre mais je prĆ©fĆØre le cinĆ©ma.
du des au aux french articles

6 ā€“ Contractions of Definite Article ā€“ the Mutant Forms ā€œau, aux, du, desā€

Now, here is what often confuses students.

The definite article contracts with the prepositions ā€œĆ ā€ and ā€œdeā€ to create a ā€œmutantā€ form:

  1. ƀ + le = au
    Je vais au supermarchƩ (to the supermarket)
  2. ƀ + les = aux
    Je parle aux amis de ma soeur (to the friends of my sister)
  3. ƀ + lā€™ and Ć  + la do not contract.

And

  1. De + le = du
    Je ne reviens pas du concert, je reviens de la bibliothĆØque (from the concert- from the library)
  2. De + les = des
    Je parle des amis de ma soeur (about my sisterā€™s friends)
  3. De lā€™ and de la do not contract.

This is an important part of the French language, and although you may know the rule, it takes time to make this a reflexe.

However, if you do say ā€œde leā€ or ā€œĆ  leā€ in French, it sounds terrible.

So I really suggest you grab your French exercise book and train on applying these contractions until they become second nature to you!

7 ā€“ Du and Des = Partitive Articles or Contractions of the Definite Article?

Now, if you have studied my lesson on indefinite and partitive articles, you may be a bit confused (and I am being polite!)

As you now see, the words ā€œduā€ and ā€œdesā€ can have different meanings:

  1. Jā€™ai des amis (some friends = indefinite or partitive article, plural)
  2. Je parle des amis dā€™Anne (about Anneā€™s friends = about the friends of Anne = contraction of the definite article)

The difference will show in the negative:

  1. Je nā€™ai pas dā€™amis. (the indefinite and partitive articles become ā€œdeā€ in the negative)
  2. Je ne parle pas des amis dā€™Anne (no change for the definite article, whether it is contracted or not)

8 ā€“ Test Your Understanding of the French Articles

Now that you know everything about the French indefinite, partitive and definite articles, letā€™s see if you can grasp the differences among:

  1. Jā€™achĆØte un poisson (a whole one)
  2. Jā€™achĆØte du poisson (some fish ; to cook probably, an unspecified amount)
  3. Jā€™achĆØte le poisson bleu (the blue one, specifically)
  4. Les poissons sont beaux (fish in general are pretty)

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Author: Camille Chevalier

Camille Chevalier

Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 25+ years in the US and France. Based on my students' goals and needs, I've created unique downloadable French audiobooks focussing on French like it's spoken today, for all levels. Come to Paimpol and enjoy an exclusive French immersion homestay with me in Brittany.

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