1. Les noms et les articles

2. Designate a person, place, or thing.
Nouns and articles:
Designate a person, place, or thing.
Nouns are either singular or plural.
In French, unlike in English, French nouns also have a gender meaning they are masculine or feminine.

3. Nouns and articles: Nouns that identify a male are usually masculine.
Nouns that identify a female are usually feminine.
Some examples:
Masculine
Feminine
le garçon (the boy)
la fille (the girl)
un homme (a man)
une femme (a woman)
le chanteur (the singer)
la chanteuse (the singer)
un acteur (an actor)
une actrice (an actress)

4. Teacher = un professeur (always masculine when spelled out)
Nouns and articles:
Some nouns have only one gender and can refer to a male or a female such as
Teacher = un professeur (always masculine when spelled out)
For designating the gender of a teacher, the French use un prof for a male teacher and une prof for a female teacher.
Person = une personne Doctor = un médecin, un docteur
Some nouns can be masculine or feminine without any spelling change such as:
Masculine
Feminine
un élève
une élève
un artiste
une artiste
un journaliste
une journaliste

5. Nouns and articles:
Places and objects are masculine or feminine! You must memorize their gender!
Masculine
Feminine
le Canada, le Mexique
la France, la Géorgie
le gymnase
la bibliothèque
le café
la boutique
le bureau
la salle de classe
le sac à dos
la calculatrice
le livre
la table

6. To make nouns plural, you usually add an S.
Nouns and articles:
To make nouns plural, you usually add an S.
HOWEVER, words that end in EAU will add an X instead of an _S_.
Most masculine nouns ending in AL drop the AL and add AUX to become plural.

7. Notice the articles (le, la, l’) change, too!
Nouns and articles:
Notice the articles (le, la, l’) change, too!
To make nouns plural, you usually add an S.
HOWEVER, words that end in EAU will add an X instead of an _S_.
Most masculine nouns ending in AL drop the AL and add AUX to become plural.
Singular
Plural
add an s
le garçon
les garçons
la fille
les filles
eaueaux
le bureau, le tableau
les bureaux, les tableaux
alaux
le cheval, l’animal (m)
les chevaux, les animaux

8. les acteurs les chanteurs
Nouns and articles:
Mixed groups of males and females will use the masculine form of the noun to identify them.
les acteurs les chanteurs
les actrices
la chanteuse

9. An article: the, a, an, some
Nouns and articles:
Almost ALL nouns in French are modified by a determiner:
An article: the, a, an, some
A possessive: my, your, his, her, our, their
A quantifier: one, two, three, etc.
A demonstrative: this, that, these, those

10. There are two types of articles: Definite and indefinite.
Nouns and articles:
There are two types of articles:
Definite and indefinite.
Definite articles refer to a specific or known noun. The is the English definite article.
Indefinite articles refer to an unspecified thing. A, an, and some are the indefinite articles in English.

11. le la l' les un une des Nouns and articles: Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Masculine or Feminine
Singular Before a Vowel or Silent “H”
Plurals (Masculine or Feminine)
Definite Articles
Indefinite Articles le la l'
les un
une
des

12. Nouns and articles:
Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Masculine or Feminine
Singular Before a Vowel or Silent “H”
Plurals (Masculine or Feminine)
Definite Articles
Indefinite Articles le la l'
les un
une
des
With the definite article, we must have LIAISON if the noun begins with a vowel or a silent “h.” This means that we remove the “e” in “le” or “a” in “la” and replace the vowel with an apostrophe. We do this to make the article and noun combination sound better.

13. Feuille de sortie – Exit Slip
Nouns and articles:
Feuille de sortie – Exit Slip
Answer These Questions In Your Own Words…
What is an indefinite article?
What is a definite article?
Why is French liaison so important?

14. Examples of liaison of French articles and nouns:
Nouns and articles:
Examples of liaison of French articles and nouns:
l’ami – the friend (m) l’amie – the friend (f)
l’élève – the student (m/f) l’artiste (m/f)
l’homme – the man l’hôtel (m)
We don’t need the l’ when a noun is plural (les amis, les artistes) and we don’t need liaison with un and une because these articles end in a consonant sound. (The “s” in les makes a “z” sound when followed by a vowel.)

15. le, la, l’ ou les? un, une ou des? 1. _____ café 1. _____ bureau
Essayez! Select the correct article for each noun.
le, la, l’ ou les?
un, une ou des?
1. _____ café
1. _____ bureau
2. _____ bibliothèque
2. _____ différence
3. _____ acteur
3. _____ objet
4. _____ amie
4. _____ amis
5. _____ problèmes
5. _____ amies
6. _____ lycée
6. _____ université
7. _____ examens
7. _____ ordinateur
8. _____ littérature
8. _____ tableaux le un 15

16. If the term is singular, make it plural and if it is plural, make it singular.
1. l’actrice ____________________________
8. les bibliothèques ___________________________
2. les lycées ____________________________
9. les acteurs ____________________________
3. les différences ____________________________
10. l’ami ____________________________
4. le bureau ____________________________
11. l’université ____________________________
5. la chose ____________________________
12. les tableaux ____________________________
6. le café ____________________________
13. le problème ____________________________
7. les librairies ____________________________
14. les amies ____________________________
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17. 1.__________________ 8. __________________
2.__________________ 9. __________________
3.__________________ 10. __________________
4.__________________ 11. __________________
5.__________________ 12. __________________
6.__________________ 13. __________________
7.__________________ 14. __________________
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.