1. The use of the definite article

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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???

7. 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

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

9. 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

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

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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)…?

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

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

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