French Definite Articles
Les Articles définis
Definite articles | Indefinite articles | Partitive articles | Test on articles
The French definite article corresponds to the in English. There are four forms of the French definite article:
| Singular | Plural | ||
| Masculine | Feminine | Before vowel or mute h |
|
| le | la | l' | les |
| le garçon le père |
la fille la mère |
l'ami, l'amie l'homme, l'histoire |
les garçons les filles |
Which definite article to use depends on three things: the noun's gender,
number, and first letter. If the noun is plural, use les.
If it's singular starting with a vowel or mute h, use l'.
If it's singular and starts with a consonant, use le
if it's masculine and la if it's feminine.
Meaning and usage of the French definite article
The definite article indicates a specific noun.
Je vais à la banque - I'm going to the bank.
Voici le livre que j'ai lu - Here is the book I read.
The definite article is also used in French to indicate the general sense of a noun. The article is not used in this sense in English.
J'aime la glace - I like ice cream
C'est la vie ! - That's life!
More uses of the definite article
Definite article contractions
The definite article changes when preceded by the preposition à or de - the preposition and article contract into a single word. Learn more
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