The articles in French (“the”, “a”, “some” in English) have three criteria for their formation.
1. The gender of the noun.
2. The first letter of the noun.
3. Whether the noun is singular or plural.
Definite Articles
Singular Forms
le is the definite article for singular masculine nouns.
la is the definite article for singular feminine nouns.
An important note: if a word begins with a vowel, the article will be reduced to l’ and is pronounced as part of the first syllable of the word.
| le restaurant le livre | the restaurant the book |
| la rue la maison | the street the house |
| l’ami | the friend |
Plural Form
les is the definite article for all plural words. When “les” is followed by a noun that begins with a vowel, the ‘s’ of “les” is pronounced like a ‘z’ at the beginning of that word.
| les restaurants les rues les amis | the restaurants the streets the friends |
Indefinite Articles
Singular Forms
un is the definite article for singular masculine nouns.
une is the definite article for feminine masculine nouns.
| un restaurant un livre | a restaurant a book |
| une rue une maison | a street a house |
Plural Form
des is the indefinite article for all plural words. When “des” is followed by a noun that begins with a vowel, the ‘s’ of “les” is pronounced like a ‘z’ at the beginning of that word.
| des restaurants des livres | some restaurants some books |
| des rues des maisons | some streets some houses |