he Indefinite Articles in French
articles are really adjectives and therefore have to agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. Here are a list of the indefinite articles in French:
* un--masculin singular
* une--feminin singular
* des--masculin or feminin plural
* de, d'--used when the indefinite article is negated.*
Here are some examples of these articles in use:
* un ami--a friend
* une tasse--a cup
* des cartes--some (any) maps
* des calendriers--some (any) calendars
Note in the preceding example that cartes is feminine and calendriers is masculine, but the indefinite article remains the same in the plural, regardless of gender.
*When the indefinite article is used in a negative sense, all of its forms become de or d'. Here are some examples:
* J'ai un chien. = I have a dog.
Je n'ai pas de chien. = I do not have a dog.
* Nous avons des oncles. = We have (some) uncles.
Nous n'avons pas d'oncles. = We do not have any uncles.
The Definite Articles in French
The definite articles in French are as follows and mean "the":
* le--masculine singular
* la--feminine singular
* l'--masculine or feminine singular before a vowel or vowel sound
* les--masculine and feminine plural
Just like the indefinite articles, the masculine and feminine plural share the same form. Also note that le and la become l' before a vowel or vowel sound. Here are some examples:
* le chat--the cat
* la piscine--the swimming pool
* l'homme--the man
* les livres--the books
* les voitures--the cars
Note that homme begins with a silent 'h' and requires l'. Not all words beginning with 'h' in French require l'. Some words begin with an "aspirate h" and require the corresponding unamended definite article. Any French language dictionary will indicate whether words beginning with 'h' are aspirate.
Here are some examples:
* la hâche--the axe (aspirate 'h')
* le homard--the lobster (aspirate 'h')
* l'hôtel--the hotel (silent 'h')
The Partitive in French
What is the partitive?
In some sense, the partitive is a third type of article. The partitive is used in French to indicate a part of a whole. Unlike the indefinite article which indicates an intact whole, such as "a car" or "an apple", the partitive is by definition a division of something. The partitive's use may be difficult for some English speakers to grasp because it is so often left out in English. Normally, it would be translated as "some" in English.
Here are the forms of the partitive:
* du--masculine singular noun
* de la--feminine plural noun
* de l'--before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound
* des--plural*
* de, d'--after a negative
*Note that des is normally considered the plural of the indefinite article, but is included in this list for clarity.
Just like the indefinite articles, the partitive changes to de or d' in a negative context.
Here are some examples of the usage of the partitive.
* En ce qui me concernait, mes parents avaient de la patience! = In regard to me, my parents had patience!
* J'ai du fromage. = I have (some) cheese.
* Vous ne mangez pas de fraises. = You don't eat (any) strawberries.
* Nous prendrons de l'eau. = We will have (some) water.