The use of the definite article

What is the definite article? The definite article is the word THE

The  masculine, singular The for a masculine noun le Examples: le crayon – the pencil le stylo – the pen le livre – the book le cahier – the notebook

The  feminine, singular The for a feminine noun is la Examples: la gomme – the eraser la chaise – the chair la calculatrice – the calculator la fiche – the index card

What happens if the singular noun starts with a vowel sound? The le or la becomes l’ in front of any vowel sound *and usually before “h” (it is silent) Examples l’ordinateur – the computer l’homme – the man l’enfant – the child

WAIT!!!! You know, I have more than one book and more than one notebook and more than one pencil and more than one pen….what do I do about that???

There is a simple solution! First thing: to make almost any noun in French plural, add an S to the end of the word. Second thing: Change the LE / LA / L’ to LES

Check this out! le livre ------------- les livres la fille ------------- les filles le crayon --------- les crayons le stylo ------------------ les stylos

Do I have to keep repeating the noun? No, you can replace the noun with a subject pronoun, il/ils or elle/elles depending on the gender and number of the noun. (où = where, est = is, sont = are) Où est l’ordinateur? (Where is the computer?) Il est sur la table. (It is on the table.) Où sont les agrafeuses? (Where are the staplers?) Elles sont sur la table. (They’re on the table.) Masculine nouns are replaced by il and ils Feminine nouns are replaced by elle and elles

French tends to use le/la/l’/les A LOT more than we use “the” in English Always after expressing likes/preferences

Compare the French and the English J’aime le français. Je préfère les maths Tu aimes la musique? Nous aimons les films en classe. I like French. I prefer math. Do you like music? We like movies in class.

The rule: Use the definite article (le, la, l’, les) when you are talking about nouns in a general sense, aka where we do not use a “the” in English. *used a lot after aimer (to like), préférer (to prefer) and adorer (to adore) Why do the French do this? Because every noun has to have some sort of article before it.

2nd time to use the definite article: Use le before a day of the week to say “On (day of the week)…” or “Every (day of the week)…?

Examples Le jeudi, je regarde Grey’s Anatomy. On Thursdays, I watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Le dimanche, je regarde The Walking Dead Le dimanche, je regarde The Walking Dead. Every Sunday, I watch The Walking Dead.

Le vendredi, je dîne au restaurant. On Fridays, I eat at a restaurant.