UNITÉ 1 LEÇON 1A: Articles

Question 1

What are articles?

Answer 1

Articles are connecting words that describe the noun, like “the,” “a”, “an”, “one”, “some”, “few”, etc.

Question 2

In French, how do you know which article to use?

Answer 2

It depends on whether the noun is a masculine or feminine noun and whether it is plural (talking about two or more nouns) or singular.

• MASCULINE NOUNS:

​le (“the”) and un (“a”/”an”)

• FEMININE NOUNS:

​la (“the”) and *une *(“a”/”an”)

• BOTH:
• l’* (followed by a word that starts with an a, e, i, o, u, h, and y) and des (plural).

Question 3

When are these articles used?

le / un

Answer 3

They are used for MASCULINE nouns.

• le = “the” (specific)
• un = “a” (not specific)

Ex. Le livre de français.

The French book.

Ex. Un livre.

A book.

Question 4

When are these articles used?

la / une

Answer 4

They are used for FEMININE nouns.

• la = “the” (specific)
• une = “a” (not specific)

Ex. La calculatrice de Paul.

The calculator of Paul; Paul’s calculator.

Ex. Une calculatrice.

A calculator.

Question 5

What are the four different ways to say “the”?

Answer 5

• le (masculine)
• la (feminine)
• l’ (followed by any word that starts with an a, e, i, o, u, h, y)
• les (plural)

​Some Examples:* *

• L’université* = “The university.”
• La chanteuse* = “The (female) singer.”
• L’ami* = “The (male) friend.”
• Le petit ami* = “The boyfriend.”
• Les cafés* = “The cafés.”

Question 6

What are the three different ways to say “a”?

Answer 6

​

• un (masculine)
• une (feminine)
• des (plural)

​

For Example:

• Un livre* = “A book.”
• Des amies* = “Some/few/several (female) friends.”
• Une amie* = “A (female) friend.”