les Articles

1. les Articles le français 1

2. What’s an article? • a short word that combines with a noun • in English: a, an, the • a marker, • an eraser • the pencil

3. Articles in French In French, articles agree with the noun in number (how many) and gender (male or female) Articles are very important in French—you almost always need to use them

4. Types of Articles • Indefinite articles • used with nouns that refer to any member of a group • not specific • ex. a pen (this could be any pen) • ex. a red marker (this could be any red marker) • Definite articles • used with nouns that refer to a particular item • specific • ex. the pen (this is a specific pen) • ex. the students (these are specific students)

5. Indefinite articles in French • Remember: the indefinite articles refer to unspecific nouns. • un • used before a masculine, singular noun • means “a,” “an,” or “one” • ex. un garçon, un stylo, un cahier • une • used before a feminine, singular noun • means “a,” “an,” or “one” • ex. unefille, unebrosse, uneporte • des • used before a plural noun (masculine or feminine) • often absent in English, but you must use it in French! • can mean “some” • ex. des profs, des livres, des crayons

6. Exemples Voilà Mme Calabrese. C’est ____ prof et ____ mère. Marc est____ élève. C’est____ frère, aussi. Mlle Vogel et M. Shields sont____ profs d’anglais.

7. Definite Articles • Remember: definite articles are used before specific nouns • le • use before a masculine, singular noun • means “the” • ex. le garçon, le stylo, le cahier • la • used before a feminine, singular noun • means “the” • ex. la fille, la brosse, la porte • l’ • replaces “le” or “la” before a vowel sound • used before any singular noun beginning with a vowel • means “the” • ex. l’élève, l’ami, l’amie, l’homme, l’heure • les • used before a plural noun (masculine or feminine) • means “the” • ex. les profs, les stylos, les filles, les brosses