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The definite article with nouns
Let’s first look at the definite article. All nouns in French have a gender: masculine or feminine, whether they refer to a person, an animal, a thing, or an abstract notion. While English has only one definite article the, French uses le for masculine nouns and la for feminine nouns. Le and la are shortened to l’ before a singularnoun or adjective that begins with a vowel sound. The plural les is used for both masculine and feminine.
Masculinele
village
the village
le pont
the bridge
Feminine
la ville
the city
la région
the region
Pluralles villages (m.pl.)
the villages
les villes (f.pl.)
the cities
Le and la become l’ in front of singular nouns starting with a vowel or a mute h.
Masculine
l’océan
the ocean
l’ami
the friend
Femininel’île
the island
l’autoroute
the highway
Où se trouve le pont Alexandre III?
Where is the Alexandre III bridge?
La ville principale est à cent kilomètres d’ici.
The main town is a hundred kilometers away.
Prenez le chemin sur la droite.
Take the path on the (your) right.
Le réchauffement de la planète est le sujet de sa conférence.
Global warming is the topic of his lecture.
Les enfants jouent dans le jardin.
The children are playing in the garden.
L’ami de Sonia est japonais.
Sonia’s friend is Japanese.
The indefinite and partitive articles with nouns
The indefinite articles are un (masculine singular) (a), une (feminine singular) (a), and des (both masculine and feminine plural) (some).
Masculineun
projet
a project, a plan
un bâtiment
a building
un immeuble
an apartment building
Feminine
une maison
a house
une lampe
a lamp
une avalanche
an avalanche
une aubergine
an eggplant
Masculine or feminineun(e)
architecte
an architect
un(e) artiste
an artist
un(e) journaliste
a journalist
Masculine and feminine plural
des murs (m.pl.) (some)
walls
des balcons (m.pl.) (some)
balconies
des fenêtres (f.pl.) (some)
windows
des amis (m.pl.) (some)
friends (m.)
des amies (f.pl.) (some)
friends (f.)
Est-ce qu’il y a une piscine?
Is there a swimming pool?
Elle a acheté un vélo.
She bought a bike.
Nous avons vu des lapins dans le jardin.
We saw (some) rabbits in the garden.
Il a acheté des rideaux pour le salon.
He bought (some) curtains for the living room.
Il a un nouveau chien.
He has a new dog.
Tu veux emprunter un de mes livres?
Do you want to borrow one of my books?
The partitive article
The partitive article is used when the exact quantity of an item is unknown. In English, the partitive article is often omitted. We say, “I want bread” or “I want some bread.” However, the partitivearticle is always required in French. It is formed by combining de and the definite article.
De+ le = du
De+ l’= de l’
De+ la = de la
De + les = des
Je voudrais du pain.
I would like some bread.
Elle mange du chocolat.
She eats chocolate.
Nous buvons de l’eau minérale.
We drink mineral water.
Il achète de la viande.
He is buying meat.
Elle fait pousser des haricots verts.
grows green beans.
When used in the negative, the du, de la, and des all become de, since the quantity of the item doesn’t exist any longer.
Ce village a du charme.
This village has charm.
Ce village n’a pas de charme.
This village has no charm.
Il prête de l’argent à son ami.
He lends money to his friend.
Il ne prête pas d’argent à son ami.
He does not lend any money to his friend.
Elle a des amis à Paris.
She has friends in Paris.
Elle n’a pas d’amis à Paris.
She does not have any friends in Paris.
Nous avons des cartes routières.
We have road maps.
Nous n’avons pas de cartes routières.
We do not have any road maps.
One exception to this rule is when using the verb être (to be). In the negative, the partitive article is always used with être.
C’est du fromage de chèvre.
It’s goat cheese.
Ce n’est pas du fromage de chèvre.
It’s not goat cheese.
C’est de la porcelaine.
It’s porcelain.
Ce n’est pas de la porcelaine.
It’s not porcelain.
C’est de l’eau potable.
It’s drinkable water.
Ce n’est pas de l’eau potable.
It’s not drinking water.
The gender of nouns
The noun endings very often indicate their gender. However, you cannot rely solely on these patterns, as there are exceptions.We’ll look at few of them at the end of this section.Nouns ending in -age, -eau, and -ment tend to be masculine.
le fromage
cheese
le barrage
dam
le courage
courage
le voyage
trip
le gâteau
cake
le plateau
tray
le tableau
painting
le château
castle
le compliment
compliment
le monument
monument
le sentiment
feeling
le paravent
screen (furniture)
Nouns ending in -t, -al, -ail, -eil, -isme also tend to be masculine.
le chocolat
chocolate
le contrat
contract
l’état
state
le résultat
result
le journal
newspaper
le métal
metal
l’hôpital
hospital
le capital
capital
l’éventail
fan (for ventilation)
le bétail
cattle, livestock
le travail
work
le détail
detail
l’appareil
apparatus, (still) camera
le sommeil
sleep
le soleil
sun
le conseil
advice
le tourisme
tourism
le colonialisme
colonialism
l’idéalisme
idealism
l’alpinisme
mountain climbing
Nouns ending in -ure, -ence, -ance, -sion, -tion, -té, -ouille, -eille, -ie, -ette, -eur tend to be feminine.
la sculpture
sculpture
la nature
nature
la couverture
cover, blanket
l’écriture
writing
l’intelligence
intelligence
l’urgence
emergency
la violence
violence
la concurrence
competition
la croyance
belief
l’enfance
childhood
la naissance
birth
l’ordonnance
prescription
la dimension
dimension
la profession
profession
la tension
tension
la télévision
television
l’invention
invention
la solution
solution
l’exposition
exhibition
la traduction
translation
la qualité
quality
l’éternité
eternity
la publicité
advertising
la nationalité
nationality
la grenouille
frog
la rouille
rust
la ratatouille
ratatouille (summer vegetable stew)
la citrouille
pumpkin
la bouteille
bottle
l’abeille
bee
la corbeille
basket
la veille
the day (or evening) before
la folie
madness
la boulangerie
bakery
la chimie
chemistry
la gastronomie
gastronomy
la cigarette
cigarette
la cassette
cassette tape
la noisette
hazelnut
l’omelette
omelette
la chaleur
heat
la douceur
softness, gentleness
la hauteur
height
la froideur
coldness
For the most part, you can go by these rules and learn the exceptions as you move along.Here are a few exceptions:
la page
page
la plage
beach
la nuit
night
le silence
silence
la forêt
forest
le traité
treaty
le comité
committee
le parapluie
umbrella
le génie
genius
le Bonheur
happiness
Many nouns can be changed from masculine to feminine by adding an -e to the masculine form:
l’ami l’amie
friend
l’étudiant l’étudiante
student
l’avocat l’avocate
lawyer
l’Anglais l’Anglaise
Englishman/woman
Nouns with certain endings form the feminine in other ways:
-eur - euse
le danseur - la danseuse - dancer
le coiffeur - la coiffeuse - hairdresser
le menteur - la menteuse - liar
le vendeur - la vendeuse - salesperson
-(i)er (i)èrel’épicier - l’épicière - grocer
le boulanger - la boulangère - baker
l’ouvrier - l’ouvrière - worker
l’infirmier - l’infirmière - nurse
-teur -trice
l’instituteur - l’institutrice - teacher (primary school)
le lecteur - la lectrice - reader
l’explorateur - l’exploratrice - explorer
le directeur - la directrice - director, manager
-ien -iennele
citoyen - la citoyenne - citizen
le pharmacien - la pharmacienne - pharmacist
l’académicien - l’académicienne - member of the Académie Française
le Vietnamien - la Vietnamienne - Vietnamese man/woman
The feminine of some nouns ends in -esse.
le prince - prince
la princesse - princess
le comte count
la comtesse - countess
le duc - duke
la duchesse - duchess
le dieu - god
la déesse - goddess
Some nouns referring to persons or animals, as in English, have different words for masculine and for feminine.
le roi - king
la reine - queen
le garçon - boy
la fille - girl
l’homme - man
la femme - woman
le cheval - horse
la jument mare
le cochon - pig
la truie - sow
le taureau - bull
la vache - cow
le mouton - sheep
la brebis - ewe
le père - father
la mère - mother
le fils - son
la fille - daughter
le frère - brother
la sœur - sister
le grand-père - grandfather
la grand-mère - grandmother
l’oncle - uncle
la tante - aunt
le neveu - nephew
la nièce - niece
le cousin - cousin (male)
la cousine - cousin (female)
A few nouns have different meanings in the masculine and feminine.
le livre - book
la livre - pound (weight, currency)
le tour - trip, ride
la tour - tower
le page - page (boy)
la page - page (book)
le poste - job, television set
la poste - post office
le moule - mold, form
la moule - mussel
le rose - pink, rose (color)
la rose - rose
le poêle - stove
la poêle - frying pan
le manche - handle
la manche; - sleeve; English Channel
la Manche
The plural of nouns
In most cases, an -s is added to a noun to make it plural.
une maison
a house
des maisons
houses
un livre
a book
des livres
books
If a noun in the plural begins with a vowel or a mute h, the -s of les or des is pronounced z(liaison).
une île
an island
des îles
islands
un inconnu
a stranger
des inconnus
strangers
un hôpital
a hospital
des hôpitaux
hospitals
un homme
a man
des hommes
men
Nouns ending in -s, -x, or -z do not change in the plural.
un pas
a step
des pas
steps
une voix
a voice
des voix
voices
un nez
a nose
des nez
noses
Nouns ending in -eu, -eau usually take an -x in the plural.
un château
a castle
des châteaux
castles
un gâteau
a cake
des gâteaux
cakes
un neveu
a nephew
des neveux
nephews
un jeu
a game
des jeux
games
Nouns ending in -al usually change to -aux.
un cheval
a horse
des chevaux
horses
un journal
a newspaper
des journaux
newspapers
Here again, you’ll find exceptions, such as:
un bal
a ball (dance)
des bals
balls
un genou
a knee
des genoux
knees
un pneu
a tire
des pneus
tires
un festival
a festival
des festivals
festivals
un œil
an eye
des yeux
eyes
un bijou
a jewel
des bijoux
jewels
In French, no -s is added to a family name used in the plural. You’ll refer to Monsieur et Madame Renaud as les Renaud
The gender of countries
Countries, continents, states, provinces, and regions also have a gender. For geographical nouns, an -e ending usually indicates the feminine. Other endings tend to be masculine. Here are someexamples of feminine countries:
la France
France
l’Italie
Italy
l’Espagne
Spain
l’Argentine
Argentina
la Chine
China
la Grèce
Greece
la Turquie
Turkey
l’Algérie
Algeria
la Tanzanie
Tanzania
la Côte-d’Ivoire
Ivory Coast
And some masculine countries:
le Portugal
Portugal
le Pérou
Peru
le Kenya
Kenya
le Maroc
Morocco
le Canada
Canada
le Japon
Japan
le Vietnam
Vietnam
le Laos
Laos
le Venezuela
Venezuela
le Luxembourg
Luxemburg.
Note that some countries and states ending in -e are masculine:
le Mexique
Mexico
le Cambodge
Cambodia
le Maine
Maine
le Mozambique
Mozambique
Geographical names with prepositions
To express in or to with a geographical name, the preposition varies.
Cities
With cities, the preposition à is used.
Nous irons à Tokyo la semaine prochaine.
We’ll go to Tokyo next week.
Elle habite à Hanoi.
She lives in Hanoi.
Cities are usually not preceded by an article.
Note the following exceptions:
Le Caire,La Nouvelle-Orléans, La Havane, Le Havre, La Rochelle, Le Touquet.
Il vivait à La Havane.
He lived in Havana.
Le Touquet est sa station balnéaire Le préférée.
Touquet is his favorite beach resort.
Countries and states
With countries, regions, states, and provinces, the article and/or the preposition change according to gender and number.
en before feminine countries and regions
en before masculine countries beginning with a vowel
au before singular masculine countries
aux before plural countries
Ils ont acheté une maison en Sicile.
They bought a house in Sicily.
Ces médecins travaillent en Afghanistan.
These doctors work in Afghanistan.
Ils sont allés au Liban.
They went to Lebanon.
Il investira aux États-Unis.
He’ll invest in the United States.
However, with provinces, departments, or states, the preposition may vary. Before feminine nouns or masculine nouns starting with a vowel, use en.
la Pennsylvanie
en Pennsylvanie
la Provence
en Provence
l’Alsace (f.)
en Alsace
l’Arizona (m.)
en Arizona
Au is used in front of masculine states.
le Texas
au Texas
le Tennessee
au Tennessee
In front of masculine nouns starting with a consonant, dans le oft en replaces au. Try to be aware of examples as you hear or read them.
le Midi
dans le Midi
le Languedoc
dans le Languedoc
le Poitou
dans le Poitou
We sometimes need to differentiate between U.S. or Canadian cities and states or provinces that have the same name.
Le siège est à New York.
The main office is in New York (City).
Leur cabane se trouve dans l’État de New York.
Their cabin is in New York State.
Il a ouvert un restaurant à Washington.
He opened a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
Ce parc se trouve dans l’État de Washington.
This park is located in Washington State.
Islands
Although usage may vary, the preposition à (aux in the plural) is often used for islands.
à Tahiti
à Hawaii
à Cuba
à Madagascar
à La Réunion
aux Maldives
aux Seychelles
Some exceptions:
en Haïti
en Martinique
en Guadeloupe
How to say from
From is expressed by de (d’) for continents, feminine countries, provinces, regions, and states. For masculine and plural entities, the definite article is retained (du, des).
Elle est rentrée de Suède hier soir.
She came back from Sweden last night.
Il n’est pas encore revenu d’Italie.
He is not yet back from Italy.
Elle est originaire du Brésil.
She comes from Brazil.
Je reviens du Sénégal.
I am back from Senegal.
Le vol arrive des États-Unis.
The flight is arriving from the United States.
