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Feb 27, 2023 · Notice that in French, countries/continents/states/regions are used with the definite article le, la, l' or les, when used in general statements, unlike in English. ATTENTION: When talking about going to or from a country, you won't use the definite article.
When used with the French prepositions à (indicating to, at, or in) and de (indicating from, of, or about), the masculine and plural definite articles le and les become contractions. We’ll look at these specifics in the following tables, along with examples demonstrating each one.
Articles are used in languages to indicate a noun. Discover how to construct sentences using le, la, les, un, une and des in French. Part of French Articles, prepositions and partitives
- Multiple Nouns
- Topics and Issues
- Countries
- Superlatives
- Possession
- Time and Date
- Talking to/about People
When there’s more than one noun, French requires a definite article in front of each one. Par exemple…
Abstractions, politics, school subjects, languages* – all need a definite article in French: Par exemple… * Except after parler, when the definite article is optional: Je parle grec / Je parle le grec.
When talking about most countries and continentswithout a preposition, a definite article is required for all but a few. Par exemple…
In superlatives with adjectives that follow the noun, French requires a second definite article: Par exemple…
Several possessive constructions require the definite article in French. a) Possessive de b) Possessive pronouns c) Parts of the body
Some references to time and date need a definite article. a) Specific dates b)Vague periods of time c) Habitual actions with days of the week and timesof day However, one-time actions with days of the week or times of day do not take a definite article. Par exemple…
a)Addressing a group b) Talking to/about a person using a titlebut no name c)Talking about a person using a title and name But when addressing a person using a title and name, there’s no article:
- Forms of the French Definite Articles. The French definite article has four forms: Le (masculine singular), La (feminine singular), L’ (followed by a vowel),
- French Definite Articles To Describe a Specific Thing. To describe a specific thing, French uses the definite articles. Just like English uses “the”.
- French Definite Articles To Show Possession. In English, you have a specific construction to show possession. You add an apostrophe and an S. Here is my sister’s house.
- French Definite Articles With General Concepts. The definite article is also used with general concepts, where in English you’ll use no article. This concept is more difficult for English speakers because you have to add a word where English uses none, so it’s important that you spend time to understand why French uses an article there.
Articles are used in languages to indicate a noun. Discover how to construct sentences using le, la, les, un, une and des in French. Part of French Articles, prepositions and partitives
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Here are the rules for using definite articles in French: For singular masculine nouns, the definite article is “le” (e.g. “le livre” = the book). For singular feminine nouns, the definite article is “la” (e.g. “la voiture” = the car).
