Definite and Indefinite Articles in French: le, la, l’, les, un, une, des

Articles in French are essential: they tell us whether we refer to something specific or something general, and they must agree in gender and number with the noun they accompany. In this article, we’ll explain:

• the definite articles: le, la, l’, les
• the indefinite articles: un, une, des
• typical rules, exceptions, and many examples (with English translations)
• tips for learners to avoid common mistakes

Let’s dive in!

1. What is an “article”?

An article is a kind of determiner (mot-déterminant) that comes before a noun and indicates whether the noun is known, specific, generic, or indefinite. In French, articles must agree in gender (masculine / féminin) and number (singular / plural).

French has three main categories of articles (often grouped under “déterminants”):

• articles définis
• articles indéfinis
• articles partitifs = partitive articles (du, de la, de l’, des) these express an unspecified quantity of something (like “some” or “any” in English). They belong to a different category and follow different rules, so we won’t explore them today.

In this article we focus on the first two.

2. Definite articles in French: le, la, l’, les

2.1 Forms and agreement

The French definite articles correspond often to the English the. But French has to consider gender and number. The main forms are:

Examples:

• le livre = the book
• la table = the table
• l’arbre = the tree
• l’amie = the (female) friend
• les étudiants = the students
• les universités = the universities

Notice that l’ is a contraction of le or la before a vowel or mute h. The e in le or a in la is dropped and replaced by the apostrophe.

2.2 When to use the definite article

We use the definite article in French when:

1. The noun is specific or already known in the context.
   - Je vois la voiture dont tu m’as parlé. → I see the car you told me about.

2. The noun is generic, i.e. we speak of a concept in general.
   - Les chats aiment dormir. → Cats (in general) like to sleep.
   - Le chocolat est délicieux. → Chocolate is delicious.

3. With days of the week, parts of the body (when referring to someone in French style)
   - Le lundi je travaille. → On Mondays I work.
   - Ils lui ont lavé les mains. → They washed his/her hands.

4. With superlatives, and certain fixed expressions
   - le meilleur film = the best movie
   - la plupart = most (of)
   - à la maison = at home

Be cautious: there are cases where English omits the but French keeps it (or vice versa).

2.3 Examples with translation

• J’ai vu la tour Eiffel hier. = I saw the Eiffel Tower yesterday.
• L’eau est froide. = The water is cold.
• Les enfants jouent dans le parc. = The children are playing in the park.
• Elle adore la lecture. = She loves reading / the act of reading.
• Le professeur parle aux étudiants. = The teacher is talking to the students.

3. Indefinite articles: un, une, des

3.1 Forms and when to use

The indefinite articles correspond roughly to English a, an, some. In French they also agree in gender and number:

• un = masculine singular → un chien (a dog)
• une = feminine singular → une maison (a house)
• des = plural (masculine or feminine) → des romans (some books) / des fleurs (some flowers)

Important: des is used whenever you speak of more than one, without specifying which ones, in a non-definite way.

3.2 When to use un / une / des

Use these when:

1. You refer to one or more non-specified things or people (not known to the interlocutor).
   - J’ai un chien. = I have a dog (some dog, not a particular one).
   - Elle veut acheter des pommes. = She wants to buy some apples.

2. In a first mention of something.
   - Il y a une voiture garée devant la maison. = There is a car parked in front of the house.

3. With professions (in some contexts)
   - C'est un médecin. Note, however, that in French the article is dropped in a profession expression: Il est médecin.

In French, when using être to describe someone’s profession, nationality or religion, the article is normally omitted (Il est médecin. Elle est française. Ils sont catholiques.). However, when the noun is modified by an adjective, the article returns:

• C’est un excellent médecin. / C'est une très bonne avocate.

  3.3 Examples with translation

• J’ai une idée. = I have an idea.

• Ils ont des questions. = They have some questions.

• C’est un problème. = That is a problem.

• J’ai vu un film hier soir. = I saw a film last night.

4. Some pitfalls & special cases

4.1 Omission of indefinite article (zero article) in French

In general, French does not omit articles before common nouns, unlike English (which sometimes uses “zero article”, e.g. I like cats). But there are a few contexts in French where no article is used:

• Professions, nationalities, fonctions (after être)
  - Il est avocat. / Elle est française.

• With proper nouns
  - Jean est ici. (not le Jean)

• In certain fixed expressions
  - Aujourd’hui, demain (we do not say le aujourd’hui = the today)

• With verbs expressing likes, dislikes or preferences (aimer, détester, préférer), the article is not omitted. You keep the definite article (le, la, les).
  - J’aime la musique classique. = I like classical music.
  - Elle préfère le thé. = She prefers tea.

But be careful: these omissions do not concern cases where we wish to provide clarification, nuance or identify the name.

4.2 When des becomes de

In French, when an adjective precedes a plural noun, the indefinite article des often becomes de :

• de belles maisons (not des belles maisons) = beautiful houses
• de vieux amis (not des vieux amis) = old friends

But if the adjective follows the noun, we keep des:

• des maisons rouges = red houses

• des amis fidèles = loyal friends

  4.3 Liaison with les, des

When we pronounce les or des before a word beginning with a vowel or a silent h, we generally make a liaison:

• les amis → [lé-zami]
• des enfants → [dé-zanfan]

5. Tips for learners

5.1 Tips to avoid mistakes

• Always check the gender (masculine / feminine) before you choose le / la / un / une.
• In the plural, les and des do not change for gender.
• When the noun begins with a vowel or mute h, use l’ (definite) or un / une normally (no contraction for indefinite).
• Watch out for the special rule des → de when an adjective precedes a plural noun.
• Practice with many sentences and listen to articles from native speakers to become more natural with practice.

6. Summary table

7. Example paragraph

Here is a sample paragraph with many articles:

J’ai un ami qui habite dans une maison ancienne. La maison est au bord d’un lac. Il invite souvent des amis à venir le voir. L’endroit est paisible, et le lac est magnifique au coucher du soleil. J’aime la vue, les arbres, et les oiseaux qui chantent.

Translation:

I have a friend who lives in an old house. The house is by a lake. He often invites friends to come see it. The place is peaceful, and the lake is beautiful at sunset. I love the view, the trees, and the birds singing.

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode

Don’t miss the companion podcast episode on this topic in La Pause Café Croissant:
“Articles définis et indéfinis en français” listen to it here.

This episode gives deeper listening practice and more examples in context.