1. French articles
le, la, l’, les
un, une, des

2. le, la, l’, les (definite articles)
What do these words mean?
These words all mean the.
So how do you know which one to use?????

3. - LES -
LES
Well, first of all, if the noun is plural, there is only one possibility:
les
For example, to say the teachers you would say:
les professeurs.
What other nouns do you know are masculine?

4. - LE - LES les les les les les les les les 1. fruits 2. sports
3. légumes
4. livres
5. magazines
6. fêtes
7. animaux
8. émissions
les
les
les
les
les
les
les
les

5. LE. LA. L’.
If your noun is singular (that means you’re talking about only one thing), then you have to choose from le, la, l’ .

6. LE. LA. L’.
Your choice of definite article depends on the gender of the noun that follows.
In French, every noun has a gender—it is either masculine or feminine.
In order to choose between le or la, you have to know the gender of the noun.

7. LE For example, the noun garçon (boy) is masculine.
If you want to say the boy you would say:
le garçon.
What other nouns do you know are masculine?

8. LE le le le le le le le le 1. bateau 2. journal 3. bus 4. cross
5. jeu vidéo
6. chocolat
7. football américain
8. chat le le le le le le le le

9. LE. LA. L’.
Since fille (snack bar) is femenine, how would you say the girl?
La fille
What other nouns do you know are femenine?

10. LA la la la la la la la la 1. glace 2. nourriture 3. pizza 4. natation
5. musique
6. fille
7. porte
8. chaise la la la la la la la la

11. Reminder about plurals…
But what if the noun is plural? For example, frites (fries).
How would I say the fries?
les frites
(You can see that if a noun is plural, you don’t really need to know if it’s masculine or feminine in order to choose the correct article.)

12. LE. LA. L’. So when do we use l’ ? See if you can figure out the rule:
l’oiseau (m) = the bird
l’agrafeuse (f) = the stapler
l’école (f) = the school
What do these words have in common?

13. LE. LA. L’.
That’s right!! They all start with a vowel AND they are singular.
Sooooo, l’ is used to mean the in front of a masculine or feminine noun starting with a vowel.
“h”s are silent in french so this applies to words that start with “h” also
Exemple: l’horloge

14. Révision 1. _____ livre (m) = the book le
2. _____ prix (m) = the price
3. _____ coupe glacée (f) = the ice cream sundae
4. _____boissons (f) = the drinks
5. _____oignons (m) = the onions
6. _____ ordinateur (m) = the computer le le la
les
les l’

15. Copiez Le  w/ masculine, singular nouns
La  w/ femenine, singular nouns
L’  w/ singular nouns that start with a vowel…(or “h”s)
Les  w/ plural nouns (m. or f.)

16. Vous êtes très intelligents!
So let’s move on to indefinite articles…

17. Indefinite articles un, une & des are indefinite articles.
(They don’t refer to any specific item— any one will do.)
Do you know what they mean?
un livre = a book
une portion = a serving
des frites = some fries

18. un, une, des Which one is used in front of a masculine singular noun?
Which one is used in front of a feminine singular noun?
une

19. So now I bet you can guess when to use des (some).
That’s right! In front of a plural noun— either masculine or feminine!

20. How are your matching skills?
1. a piece
2. the fries
3. the piece
4. an ice cream sundae
5. the order
6. an order
7. some desserts
8. the desserts
a) une commande
b) les desserts
c) un morceau
d) la commande
e) le morceau
f) une coupe glacée
g) des desserts
h) les frites

22. vocabulaire les articlesun
une
des
the (m.sing.)
the (f.sing.)
the (m/f + voyelle)
the (m/f pl.)
a/an (m.sing.)
a/an (f.sing.)
some (m/f pl.)

23. Notes (grammar section) Les articles
Les articles définis: Definite articles.
They refer to something definite.
le (m. sing.)
la (f. sing.)
l’ (m/f + vowel)
les - (m/f pl.)
THE

24. Ex. _______poulet _______pomme _______oignon _______frites
_______oignons le
the chicken
the apple
the onion
the fries
the onions la l’
les
les

25. A, AN, SOME Les articles indefinis: indefinite articles
They refer to something unspecific. (Anyone will do.)
un (m. sing)
une - (f. sing)
des - (m/f pl.)
A, AN, SOME

26. Our next lesson will cover the partitive articles du, de la, and de l’

27. Notes (grammaire section) les articles partitifs
Les articles partitifs: Partitive articles.
They are used when referring to only part of a given substance.
du (m. sing.)
de la (f. sing.)
de l’ (m/f + vowel)
des - (m/f pl.)
SOME
ANY

28. Ex. _______poulet _______pomme _______oignon _______frites
_______oignons du
some chicken
some apple
some onion
some fries
some onions
de la
de l’
des
des

29. Ex. I am eating some chicken.
Je mange du poulet.
(I am only eating a part of the chicken— not the whole thing.)

30. ATTENTION! In a negative sentence: du de la de / d’ de l’ des
Ex. J’aime de la moutarde dans mon hot dog.
Je n’aime pas de moutarde dans mon hot dog.
Elle mange des oignons.
Elle ne mange pas d’oignons.
become s

31. While we’re at it….
un de/d’
une (becomes)
in negative sentences.
Ex. J’ai un frère. I have a brother.
Je n’ai pas de frère. I don’t have a brother.

32. A pratiquer: 1. I like (some)* mustard in my hot dog.
2. We are eating (some) bread.
3. We aren’t eating (any) bread.
4. I don’t eat (any) onions.
5. She eats (some)onions.
6. They share (some) fries.
7. They are sharing an ice-cream sundae.
8. I am not sharing an ice-cream sundae.
*Note: In English, we don’t always say “some” or “any”, but in French we always use the article before the noun.