There are two genders in the French language: “masculin” and “féminin”.
Here are in the table bellow the different indefinite and definite articles in French and their equivalent in English:
| Genres | Articles indéfinis | Indefinite articles | Articles définis | Definite articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculin | Un | A, an | Le | The |
| Féminin | Une | A, an | La | The |
| Pluriel | Des | Some | Les | The |
Often, words ending in “e” are feminine in the French language like: une chose (a thing), une ville (a city), etc.
Although, it is not always the case, like: un arbre (a tree), un téléphone (a phone), etc.
Depending on the ending of a word you can guess their gender.
You can find a table here which summarises it.
This is why when you learn new vocabulary in French, it can be good for you to learn the words with their articles to learn their gender at the same time.
Partitive articles
Partitive articles in French are articles that we use to replace the use of the preposition à or de, plus a definite article. It is a contraction that appears only with the masculine and the plural.
Here are in the table bellow the 4 partitive articles in the French language:
| Genres | à + article défini | de + article défini |
|---|---|---|
| Masculin | à + le = au | de + le = du |
| Féminin | à + la = à la | de + la = de la |
| Pluriel | à + les = aux | de + les = des |
For examples:
- Je vais au supermarché (le supermarché). I go to the supermarket.
- Tu vas à la gare (la gare). You go to the train station.
- Il mange une tarte aux pommes (les pommes). He eats an apple pie.
- Je joue du piano (le piano). I play the piano.
- Je joue de la guitare (la guitare). I play the guitar.
- Le ballon des enfants (le ballon de les enfants). The children’s ball.
Le and la in front of a word starting with a vowel or a silent h will change in l’. In the same way, de, du, will change in d’. The reason for that is to avoid a double vowel sounds.
- Est-ce que tu te souviens de l’histoire (instead of de la histoire)? Do you remember the story?
- Je me suis tromper d’étage (instead of du étage). I got to the wrong stair.
When we talk about an indefinite quantity we either use du (masculin) and de la (féminin) depending on the gender but not des (pluriel). For examples:
- Je bois de l’eau et du café. I drink water and coffee.
When we play a sport or a music instrument like:
Je joue du piano et je fais de la natation. I play the piano and I swim.
Sometimes when we talk about an indefinite quantity and after adverbs of quantity, we use “de” without an article like:
- Je lis beaucoup de livres. I read a lot of books.
- Tu as plus d’énergie que lui. You have more energy than him.
We also use “de” instead of “du, d’, de la, des” in negative phrases. For examples:
- Le commerçant ne vend pas de poires. The vendor don’t sell pears.
- Je n’ai pas de chat. I don’t have a cat.
Also, some expressions don’t need an article like:
- J’ai besoin de temps. I need time.
Thank you for reading this post. Feel free to share it if you liked it.
Watch my content in video format on my YouTube channel.
Book a French lesson with me on italki.
Find my other post about French grammar here.