In the eyes of the Russian people, France looks like something refined and intelligent. Rich culture this country attracts tourists from all over the world, the architectural heritage amazes the mind of sophisticated connoisseurs, and traditions encourage a relaxing holiday and unhurried dreams. To visit France is the number one goal for all romantics in the world. But before you carry out your plan, you should get acquainted with the local language: the French do not like to speak English and are extremely reluctant to listen to it.
French is the language of the elite society
The nineteenth century entered Russian history as French: in those days, the noble society could not imagine communication in another language. Until now, it is considered a sign of luxury and wealth, and those who are fluent in it are people of considerable intellect. However, learning the language of capricious France is not so easy: in addition to many times and irregular verbs, there is a complexity on a smaller scale, but no less significant - articles in French.
Why are articles needed?
It is difficult for a Russian to understand what function the articles perform in French speech, since there are analogues in mother tongue they do not have. However, the presence of articles is extremely important for the French: with their help, they convey information about whether the subject of conversation was mentioned earlier, whether it occurs in a speech for the first time or some part of it is spoken about. Articles in French play one of the main roles, so it is impossible to miss this topic, considering that it is useless to know it.
Types of French articles
Unlike common English, which only has two articles, French boasts three kinds of particles: definite, indefinite, and partial. Separately, you will have to memorize continuous articles, but this task is the last one on the list of those that must be completed for a complete understanding of French grammar.
Definite article
The definite article in French is one of the most common particles. Each text will necessarily contain more than a dozen specific nouns. Such particles are used with those words that have been encountered before, or with those that are a priori unique.
For instance: Le Soleil eclaire la Terre - The sun illuminates the Earth. In this case, both the Sun and the Earth mean unique concepts - they are alone in the world, and there can be no talk of any others.
Une femme traverse la rue. La femme est jeune et belle. - The woman crosses the street. The woman is young and beautiful. In this case, we are talking about a woman already familiar from the previous remark, so the definite article is used. For ease of understanding, you can mentally replace it with the words "this", "this", "this".
Indefinite article
On the other hand, it indicates an unfamiliar object. In French, it can be used before nouns that belong only to a certain class.
For example: C "est une belle bague - This is a beautiful ring. In this case, the word "ring" is not only used for the first time, but also denotes class - not everyone has beautiful rings.
Une femme lui a telephone. The woman called him. The word "woman" has not been encountered before, and besides, who exactly called is not specified, so the word is preceded by the indefinite article une.
This type of article can be mentally defined by the words "some", "some", "some". For the correct use of this grammatical unit, you only need to understand the meaning of its use: the indefinite article indicates something unknown and non-specific.
Partial article
The partial article in French is used to denote uncountable objects and abstract concepts. Uncountable items include food, matter (air, water), material, generalizing words (noise, for example).
The shape of this particle deserves special attention. They are formed by adding the preposition de to the definite article. For greater clarity, it is better to familiarize yourself with the table.
Usage examples: Je mange du viande - I eat meat. In this case partial article indicates that the action is taking place on a single unit of the product. "A man cannot eat all the provisions," the French think, "it should be noted."
Vous avez du courage. - You are brave. Courage is an abstract concept that cannot be measured.
French articles: ways to remember
For a better understanding, it is worth working out the topic that the French language mainly consists of - "Articles". The exercises will put everything in its place, and the topic will be easy to remember. A good example of exercises are tasks in which you need to insert one of the types of articles in place of the gap.
Exercise 1
Use the article that makes sense.
1) Marie adore __ roses (answer: les).
2) Robert écrit __ texte, c'est __ texte sur __ cinéma (answer: un, un, le).
3) C'est __ nappe. C'est __ nappe de Julie. __ nappe est sur __ bureau (answer: une, la, la, le).
There are several ways that help not to get confused in the use of articles. Basically, they consist in structuring grammatical rules. Thus, you need to remember that indefinite articles in French are used with nouns that occur for the first time, as well as with unknown concepts. Partial article - with something abstract and uncountable. With the words "water" and food names, the partial article can be mentally replaced by the word "part". Only the definite article remains, which is used in all other cases.
Articles help to understand the speech of the interlocutor correctly, translate any text, and easily compose a sentence. In French, they are very important, because the correct sentence structure is provided by these particles. You don't need to cram the rules: understanding is what really matters. And it will definitely come, you just need to try a little.
There are only 8 articles in French. Before moving on to the table below, where they are given by category, try to understand their main purpose (the examples and exercises in the section will help you better understand and remember the rules for their use):
- the article may be required to indicate something specific (equivalent to the words "this", "this", "these"),
- manage la glace, sinon elle va fondre! ("Eat ice cream, otherwise it will melt!": the same ice cream (portion), which is determined by the situation)
- or for a whole class of things,
- j"aime la glace ("I love ice cream": there is no idea of quantity, we are talking about ice cream as a kind of food);
- or convey the idea of a quantity or part of something
- je mange de la glace chaque jour ("I eat ice cream every day": de la = some, without specification; to indicate that we are talking about one serving of ice cream, you can use the article une);
If you paid attention, then in the Russian translation you can not use anything at all before the word "ice cream", and for the French language it is extremely important not to forget to put articles and other functional words.
To complicate the picture somewhat, nouns can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural, countable or uncountable - that is, the article can take different forms, and it is important to learn to understand the difference between une and la, or de la, as well as un and le, or du. Below, using the example of the word pain ("bread"), you can get acquainted with different cases of using the masculine article.
Two categories of articles:
definite and indefinite
| unit m.r. |
unit zh.r. |
plural m.r. and f.r. |
Article category |
| le | la | les | definite articles the interlocutor knows what subject is being discussed, can often be replaced by the word "this" |
| un | une | des | indefinite articles for countable nouns (in pieces, "one of many"), an object unknown to the interlocutor or its quantity is unknown |
| du | de la | -- | indefinite articles (partial) for uncountable or abstract nouns (plural no!) |
Which article to choose - le, un or du?
The difference between articles le and la only in indicating the gender of the French noun (masculine and feminine, respectively). Also with articles un and une(or du and de la). But to choose which article to put before a noun, it is not enough to know the gender of the French noun.
It is more important to learn to choose which of the three articles to put before the masculine word in the singular: le, un, du(all three indicate a masculine noun)? For example, the word "bread" (m.r.) in different contexts used with various articles or no article at all, because in addition to the gender of the noun, we inform the listener (reader) of some information.
| "1 loaf (loaf, bun)." | un pain | indicated by 1 unit (out of many) |
| "I love bread." | le pain | the article shows that we are not talking about quantity, but about bread as a type of food |
| "I bought bread." | du pain | the article indicates that we are talking about a quantity unknown to the interlocutor |
| "I ate (all) the bread." | le pain | the article indicates the whole quantity |
| "I ate (part of) the bread." | du pain | the article shows that it is only a part of |
| but: "Pass me the bread." | le pain | the article shows that we are talking about all the bread, i.e. the whole basket of bread in a request at the table (if you use the partial article du, you will put the listener in a difficult position: do you need 1, 2 or more slices of bread, or break off part of a slice of bread? ..) |
| "I don't eat much bread." | peu de pain | after adverbs that indicate quantity, indefinite articles are replaced by prepositions de; why? "few" |
| "Eat a piece of bread." | un morceau de pain | after words that indicate quantity, indefinite articles are replaced by the preposition de; as in the previous example, the quantity is already expressed by the word « a piece" , so the article is not used |
| "I didn't buy bread." | pas de pain | when negated, indefinite articles are replaced by prepositions de; why? quantity is 0! |
Special forms of definite articles le, la, les
| unit m.r. |
unit zh.r. |
plural m.r. and f.r. |
Article form |
| du | -- | des | continuous articles du= preposition de+le; des= preposition de + les |
| au | -- | aux | continuous articles au= preposition a + le; aux= preposition a + les |
| l" | l" | -- | truncated articlesle and la lose a vowel if the word starts with a vowel or h mute |
Examples of the use of articles
| J "aime le café. | I love coffee. | "coffee in general" |
| La lune brille. | The moon is shining. | "the one and only" |
| Donne moi les clefs. | Give me the keys. | "the very ones" |
| Approve un cahier. | Bring a notebook. | "any" |
| Prends une pomme. | Take an apple. | "something" |
| Mange des pommes. | Eat apples. | "anything" |
| Voulez-vous du café? | Do you want coffee? | "anything" |
| Prends de la crème fraîche! | Take sour cream. | "anything" |
| Bois de l'eau! | Drink some water. | "anything" |
| Va au store! | Go to the shop. | au = a + le |
| Va à l"école! | Go to school | no merging of preposition and article |
Dropping indefinite articles
When denied
In case of negation, a special rule applies - the indefinite article is replaced by a preposition de :
- Il n "a pas de vote. - He has no car.
- Il n "a pas de talent. - He has no talent.
- N "achete pas de pommes! - Don't buy apples!
Carefully! Definite articles le, la, les(and their fused forms du, des, au, aux) are not replaced when negated!
- Je n "aime pas la glace. - I don't like ice cream.
- Je ne joue pas des tambours. ( des = de + les- preposition + article) - I don't play drums.
- Ne parlez plus du travail! - Don't talk about work!
- Ne va pas au shop! - Don't go to the store!
After quantitative adverbs and words denoting quantity
After quantitative adverbs ( lot , few...) or words that indicate quantity ( kilogram potatoes, a cup tea ...), instead of the partial article, the rule also requires a preposition de - since the quantity is expressed, the indefinite articles do not need to be used.
The article is the main determiner of a noun. It is always placed before a noun, indicating its gender and number.
There are three types of articles in French: definite, indefinite and partial. The form of each article depends on the gender and number of the noun. Since French nouns can only be masculine or feminine, articles in the singular have two forms. The plural form of the article is the same for both genders.
Definite article
The definite article has 3 forms: le, la, les. Le is for masculine, la is for feminine, les is for plural.
Le train - les trains. Train - trains
La ville - les villes. City - cities
The definite article can also be abbreviated if the noun begins with a mute h:
- l'hotel, les hôtels hotel, hotels
- l'heure, les heures hour, hours;
or if the noun starts with a vowel:
- l'arbre, les arbres tree, trees
- l'autoroute, les autoroutes
Also, the definite article can have a fused form. The prepositions à and de with the definite article le or les merge into one word:
- à + le = au Je pense au travail. I think about work
- à + les = aux Je pense aux copains. I think about friends
- de + le = du Je parle du voyage. I'm talking about travel
- de + les = des Je parle des copains. I'm talking about friends
The definite article can indicate an animate or inanimate object, defined as the only one:
- animate object: Le fils des voisins est venu me voir. The son of the neighbors came to me.
- inanimate object: Prenez le train du matin: il est plus rapide. Take the morning train: it goes faster.
The definite article can indicate an animate or inanimate object known to each of the interlocutors:
- animate object: Le patron du bistro est vraiment sympathique. The owner of the bistro is really nice.
- inanimate object: Ferme la persienne. Close the shutters.
The definite article can indicate an abstract concept, material or kind:
- concept, one of a kind: L’humanité humanity
- material: le fer iron, la soie silk
- species: Les reptiles reptiles, les mammifères mammals
- abstract concepts: la vérité truth, la liberté freedom.
Indefinite article
The indefinite article has the form un for the masculine, une for the feminine, and des for the plural of both genders.
The indefinite article indicates an animate or inanimate object that is not defined as the only one: Choisis un livre. Choose a book.
Also, the indefinite article can indicate the ideal: Un Apollon (role model), the artist's creation: Un Picasso (Picasso's creation).
Partial Article
The partial article consists of the preposition de and the definite article:
- Il prend de la confiture. He buys jam.
The partial article indicates a substance that cannot be decomposed into its constituent parts: De l'eau s'echappait de la conduite eclatee. Water gushed out of a broken pipe.
Also, the partial article can indicate a type of art or sport: De la musique (music), faire du rugby (play rugby), as well as a product artistic creativity: écouter du Brassens (listen to something from Brassens).
Sometimes nouns in French are used without an article, and the preposition de is used instead of the article. This happens in the following cases:
1. After words denoting quantity
Such words include quantitative adverbs and any nouns expressing volume, weight, etc. (these are measures of weight, names of containers, containers, etc.).
Quantitative adverbs, requiring the use of the preposition de after themselves:
beaucoup de - a lot
peu de - little
un peu de - a little
assez de - enough
trop de - enough, enough
pres de - about
plus de - more
moins de - less
J'ai achete beaucoup de fruits. — I bought a lot of fruit.
Nouns expressing weight or volume(sample list):
une boîte de - box
un bol de - glass
un bouquet - bouquet
une bouteille de - bottle
une cuillère de - spoon
une dizaine de - ten
une douzaine de - a dozen
100 grams de - 100 grams
un kilo de - kilogram
un liter de — liter
une livre de - half a kilo, a pound
un morceau de - piece
une pincée de - a pinch
une tasse de - cup
une tranche de - chunk, piece
un verre de - glass
Exceptions:
1) After the words from the following list, you must put . Attention to with the preposition de!
la plupart de - the majority
la moitié de - half
le reste de - remnant
bien de - a lot
la moitie du travail - half the job
la pluspart des gens - most people
2) After quantitative adverbs and nouns, the addition should be used with if the sentence contains an indication of the ownership of this object or further goes subordinate clause, which is a definition of this noun, or this noun is defined by context. Pay attention to the cases with the preposition de!!!
Beaucoup des amies de la princesse ... - Many friends of the duchess (whose? - "duchess" - an indication of belonging) ...
Beaucoup des gens que j’ai rencontrés à Londres m’ont dit… – Many people I met in London told me (which ones? – “whom I met” is a subordinate clause)…
J'aimerais un verre du jus que tu as apporte. — I would like a glass of juice that you brought.
3) Quantitative adverbs can refer to the verb, not to the object. In this case, the article that is necessary according to the context is placed before the complement-noun:
nous pensons beaucoup au voyage. We think a lot about travel.
2. Instead of an indefinite or partial article after a verb in the negative form:
J'ai une soeur, je n'ai pas de freres. — I have a sister, I have no brothers (instead of the neodef. article des).
J'ai achete du pain, je n'ai pas achete de beurre. I bought bread, I didn't buy butter (instead of the partial article du).
Exceptions:
1) After the verb être in negative form the article does not change to the preposition de:
C'est une table. Ce n'est pas une table. - It is a table. This is not a table.
Ce sont des chaises. ce ne sont pas des chaises. - These are chairs. These are not chairs.
2) If the addition after the verb in the negative form is determined by the situation / context (there is an indication of belonging, a subordinate clause, etc.), it is preceded by a definite article:
Je n'ai pas vu les films que vous m'aviez recommandes. — I didn't watch the films that you advised me.
Il n'a pas eu la patience de nous attendre. He didn't have the patience to wait for us.
3. The preposition de (d') is used instead of the plural indefinite article (des) before the adjective that precedes the noun:
Dans ce parc il y a de vieux arbres. There are old trees in this park.
D‘énormes pivoines fleurissent dans mon jardin. Huge peonies are blooming in my garden.
Exceptions:
1) The plural indefinite article is retained if the adjective and noun form a stable combination. For instance:
des rouges-gorges - robins
des jeunes gens - young people
des jeunes filles girls
des petits pâtés - pies
des petits pois - peas
des petits fours - cookies
des grands-parents - grandparents
des plates-bandes - beds
But, if another adjective is used before such combinations, de is put:
de pâles jeunes filles - pale girls
de beaux jeunes gens - beautiful young people
2) It should be noted that in colloquial speech there is a tendency to use the article des before adjectives in any case., with the exception of constructions with adjectives autres (others) and tels / telles (such):
Il me faut d' autres cahiers pour continuer le travail. I need other notebooks to continue my work.
Je n'ai pas recu de Tels cadeaux. I didn't receive such gifts.
4. The partial article and the indefinite plural article are omitted after the preposition de
(thus the dissonant combinations de des, de du, de de la, de l’ are avoided):
Les toits sont couverts de neige. — The roofs are covered with snow.
La piece est ornee de fleurs. — The room is decorated with flowers.
Achete du jus de tomatoes. - Buy some tomato juice.
Verbs and adjectives that require the use of the preposition de before the complement:
plein de - complete
avoir besoin de - to have a need
orner de - decorate
couvrir de - to cover, to cover
remplir de - to fill
encombrer de - to fill up, clutter up
entourer de - to surround
border de - to plant; border
charger de - load
être vêtu de - to be dressed
Notes:
1) Indefinite article singular saved:
La table est couverte d'une nappe. - The table is covered with a tablecloth.
2) If the object is determined by the situation / context, it is preceded by a definite article (attention to the continuous article):
Il a besoin des conseils de bons specialistes. — He needs the advice of good specialists.
5. Often the indefinite article is omitted after the preposition de before the noun denoting ownership:
un president d' université - president of the university
un chef lieu de département - the main city of the department
une tête de poule - chicken head = chicken head
But: if the addition in such constructions does not indicate belonging, the article is not omitted:
le prix d'un melon - melon price
6. De before object nouns expressing characteristics
Often, noun complements expressing characteristics are used without an article (the construction “noun + de + noun”, where the second noun characterizes the first). In this case, they are close in meaning to the adjective and can be translated into Russian as an adjective:
arret de bus = "bus stop" or "bus stop".
Articles in French, like many other languages, are divided into definite and indefinite.
Definite article: le (m.s., singular); – la (female, singular); - l" (m.r. and m.r., singular, if the word begins with a vowel or h of the dumb); - les (m.r. and m.r., pl.)
We use the definite article to name a specific being, a specific person, or a specific thing. The definite article for the singular becomes "l'" before a noun beginning with a vowel or h of the silent.
Examples : Je suis Julie, la fille de Collette. (I am Julie, Colette's daughter).
La cliente voudrait un gâteau au chocolat. (The client would like a chocolate cake).
Les deux frères sont très différents. (The two brothers are very different.)
Ce sont les parents de Felix? (Are these Felix's parents?)
C'est la collegue de Thomas. (This is a colleague of Thomas.)
Fabienne invite ses enfants à la maison. (Fabien invites her children to her home.)
The definite article can be accompanied by prepositions à or de and then it forms united article:
a + le = au a + la = a la a + l' = a l' a + les = aux
de+le = du de + la = de la de + l' = de l' de + les = des
Examples:
- Vous donez au restaurant, ce soir? (Are you having dinner at a restaurant tonight?)
- Ils voyagent souvent à l "étranger. (They often travel abroad.)
- Il va souvent dans des marches aux puces en ville. (He often goes to the "flea markets" of the city.)
- Art Plus, c'est le magazine des arts. (Art Plus is an art magazine.)
We use definite article:
1. Before the names of the parts of the day. Examples : Le matin(Morning). / À 2 heuresdu matin(At 2 o'clock in the morning).
2. Before the days of the week. Examples: Nous dejeunons ensemble le lundi and le vendredi. (We have lunch together on Mondays and Fridays). (i.e. every Monday and every Friday we have lunch together.) But: Il revendra mardi. (He will return on Tuesday).
3. Before dates.Examples: Il revendra le 17 octobre. (He will return on 17 October). Je vais reprendre le travail le 8 juin. (I will start work again on June 8). Le 15 août est la fête natinalle. (August 15 is a national holiday).
4. Before the seasons.Examples:: Apresl' a utomne c'estl' h iver (After autumn comes winter).
5. Before place names.Examples : les Pyrénées (Pyrenees),la Seine (Seine),la Bretagne (UK)…
6. To name peoples and languages. Examples : les Belges (Belgians), les Anglais (English) ... / l' anglais ( English language), le grec (Greek)… Example: Elle parle parfaitement le japonais! (She speaks excellent Japanese!)
7. To name colors.Examples : le blanc (white),le rouge (red).
8. Front superlatives . Example: Cet ecrivain est le plus celebre en France. (This writer is the most famous in France).
9. To indicate the measure. Example : Les cerises coûtent 4 euros le kilo. (Cherry costs 4 euros per kilogram).
10. To give approximate, approximate figures.Example :Ce jeune homme doit avoirla trentine.(This young man is about 30 years old).
11. Before some holidays. Examples : La Saint-Nicolas (St. Nicolas day),l' Ascension (Ascension),la Pentecôte (Trinity Day).But: Noël (Christmas), Pâques (Easter)
12. Before body parts. Example: Elle se lave les mains. (She washes her hands.)
P.S. After the verbaimer(love) we write onlydefinite article! Example: Vous aimez les lanques etrangeres? (Do you like foreign languages?)
We do not use the article:
· Before proper names and names of cities, except for the names of masculine cities. Examples : Athenes (Athens)/Le Havre / Paul(Paul), Mari (Marie), Collette (Coletta) ...
· Before monsieur, madame, mademoiselle. Example : Voila Mademoiselle Lemoine.(Here is Mademoiselle Lemoine).
Indefinite article: un (m.s., singular) - une (f.s., singular) - d es(m.r. and female, pl.) and partial article: du (m.r.) - de la (female) - de l’(m.r. and f.r. before a vowel orhmute) - des
We use indefinite article to name creatures, people or things that are not specific, identified, meanwhile, partial article names some part of the whole.
Examples :
- Elle achete un sandwich. (She buys a sandwich.)
- Collette est une amie de Francoise. (Colette is Francoise's friend).
- Je prepare une conférence pour deux cents personnes, en mai. (I am preparing a conference for 200 people in May.)
- Vous avez un rendez vous? (Are you meeting?)
- Ils mangent une tarte. (They eat cake).
- Vous regardez un documentaire a la television. (You are watching a documentary on TV).
- C'est fantastique d'etudier une nouvelle langue! (It's great to learn a new language!)
- Ils organisent une grande soiree pour leurs parents. (They are organizing a big party for their parents.)
- Il achète de l'aspirine, de l'huile, de l'eau. (He buys aspirin, oil, water).
- Prends de la vitamine C! (Take your vitamin C!)
- J "écoute de la music. (I listen to music).
- Elle a ordonné des legumes avec du beurre. (She ordered vegetables with butter).
- On peut y voir des vases, des lampes, des photos, de la vaisselle. (There you can find vases, lamps, photos, dishes.)
- J'ai des amis a Québec. (I have friends in Quebec.)
We replace the indefinite article and partial article with de:
1. Before plural adjective. Examples: Jules trouve chaque fois de beaux objects. (Jules always finds beautiful objects.) But we keep the article when adjective + noun = compound noun. Examples: Nous visitons souvent des residences secondaires de nos parents. (We often visit the country houses of our relatives.)
2. After an adverb or expression of quantity: beaucoup de(lot), peu de(few), plus de(more), moins de(less)…Examples: Beaucoup de tourists étrangers visitent la France. (Many foreign tourists visit France). Nous wars plus de films ici qu'à Lyon. (We watch more films here than in Lyon). But: bien des gens aiment voyager à l'étranger. (Many people like to travel abroad).
3. After expressions: morceau de(a piece…), une tranche de(chunk, piece, cut ...), un kilo de(kilogram…), une bouteille de(bottle …), un paquet de(package, bundle, pack ...), unmeter de(meter…), …. Examples: Unkilo de pommes de terre (Kilogram of potatoes), Un paquet de biscuits (Pack of cookies)
4. When negated (except when the verb être is used in the phrase).Examples : Il ne boit pasde lait. (He doesn't drink milk). Nous n'avons pasde saumon. (We don't have salmon).
But we do not change the form of the article if the negation does not apply to the whole phrase, but only to its separate part. Example:Marie ne boit pas d u café mais d u the. (Marie doesn't drink coffee, but she does drink tea).
5. P after the preposition "sans" (without). Example: Il boit son the Sans sucre. (He prefers to drink coffee without sugar). Je voudrais un sandwich Sans beurre. (I would like a sandwich without butter).
Also about indefinite articles we told in our new video tutorial:
You can get more detailed advice from the author of the article Elena Sergeevna Aksenova or sign up for a lesson with any of our tutors.
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