Articles in French Made Easy: A Cheat Sheet for Beginners

“Le chat est noir” (The cat is black), “Je lis un livre (I read a book)”. Do you notice the highlighted articles in French in these sentences? Articles are the key elements placed before nouns to indicate number and gender in French, leading to a different writing style than English. French articles define nouns and offer clarity, playing a key role in constructing sentences, specifying and adding nuance to them. They help distinguish general and specific references and their absence can significantly change the meaning of a sentence. So knowing how to use articles in Francais correctly is crucial. Let’s get started without any further ado. Ready, set, lingo!

Also Read: 70 Basic French Language Words You Need to Know Before Getting Started

Types of Articles in French

Articles in French are needed in almost every common noun, much more so than in the English language. There are 3 types of articles in French and they all agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Let’s learn about them in detail below. 

Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles (or articles indéfinis) refer to an unspecific noun or the amount of something. They are also used to refer to a single unit of something. There are 3 indefinite articles in French and their use depends on the gender of the noun and the quantity, as shown below:

Gender	Article	Meaning
Masculine	un	a/an/one
Feminine	une	a/an/one
Masculine and Feminine Plural	des	some

Examples: une amie (a friend (female)), un livre (a book), and des fruits (some fruits)

Definite Articles

Definite articles (or articles définis) are used for referring to a specific noun or class of nouns. There are four definite articles in French and their use depends on the quantity, gender, and first letter of the following noun.

Article	Gender	Meaning
le	masculine	the
la	feminine	the
les	masculine/feminine plural	the/these
l’	noun starts with vowel/h muet	the

For example: le livre (the book), l’orange (the orange), and la maison (the house)

Partitive Articles

Partitive articles (or articles partitifs) refer to a part or a portion of an uncountable noun. There are 4 partitive articles in French which depend on the quantity, gender, and first letter of the following noun.

Article	Gender	Meaning
du	masculine	some/any
de la	feminine	some/any
des	masculine/feminine plural	some/any
de l’	noun starts with vowel/h muet	some/any

For example: de la farine (some flour), des raisins (some grapes), du lait (some milk), and de l’eau (some water)

You can also refer to this tutorial on French articles for clarity on the subject:

How To Use The Correct Articles in French?

Choosing the correct articles in French sentences depends on the message you are trying to communicate. Here’s how articles are used:

• Article indéfini or indefinite article is used to refer to one of something. It is also used for something which has an unknown or uncountable quantity.
• Article défini or definite article is used to refer to a specific noun or something in general.
• Article partitif or partitive article is used to talk about something that has an unknown or uncountable quantity.

Also Read: How to Learn French Quickly? Here are 10 tips to Master the Language!

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FAQs

And we are done with the articles in French for today. Tune into Leverage Edu’s study abroad resources for more informative blogs on French like this. Happy Learning!