In short

Almost every French noun needs an article, and the article changes with the noun’s gender and number. Use the definite article (le, la, les = “the”) for something specific or known, and the indefinite article (un, une, des = “a / some”) for something new or unspecified.

The rule

French articles agree with their noun in gender (masculine / feminine) and number (singular / plural). Unlike English, you almost never drop the article: you say J’aime le café (“I like coffee”), not J’aime café.

Definite: le, la, les

The definite article points to a specific or already-known thing, or to a whole category / abstraction.

• le - masculine singular: le livre (the book), le père (the father)
• la - feminine singular: la table (the table), la mère (the mother)
• les - plural, both genders: les livres (the books), les tables (the tables)

Use le/la/les for:

• A specific thing: Ferme la porte. (Close the door.)
• Something already mentioned or known: Le film était bon. (The film was good.)
• General / abstract statements - where English uses no article: J’aime le chocolat. (I like chocolate.) Les chats sont indépendants. (Cats are independent.)
• Languages, subjects, colours: Il étudie le français. (He studies French.)

Indefinite: un, une, des

The indefinite article introduces a new, non-specific, countable thing - “a” in the singular, “some / any” in the plural.

• un - masculine singular: un livre (a book), un ami (a friend)
• une - feminine singular: une table (a table), une amie (a friend, f.)
• des - plural, both genders: des livres (some books), des amies (some friends)

Use un/une/des for:

• First mention of something countable: Il y a un problème. (There is a problem.)
• “Some / a few” in the plural - where English often uses nothing: J’achète des pommes. (I’m buying (some) apples.)

Note: des is the plural of both un and une, and unlike English it is rarely omitted - J’ai des questions (I have questions), never J’ai questions.

Elision: l’ami, l’école

Before a word starting with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or a silent h, the singular forms le and la both shrink to l’ - the vowel is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe. This is called elision.

• le ami -> l’ami (the friend)
• la école -> l’école (the school)
• le homme -> l’homme (the man - silent h)
• la histoire -> l’histoire (the story)

Key points about elision:

• It affects only le and la. The plural les never elides: les amis, les écoles (you hear a liaison “z” sound, but the spelling stays les).
• The indefinite articles un/une/des never elide: un ami, une école, des amis.
• The aspirated h blocks elision on a small set of words: le héros (the hero), la haine (the hatred) stay unelided. Most h-words, though, take elision.

Forms & patterns

Definite and indefinite articles side by side:

Elision in practice - le / la -> l’:

Examples

Common mistakes

• J’aime chocolat -> J’aime le chocolat - general likes take the definite article; you cannot drop it.
• le ami -> l’ami - le and la must elide to l’ before a vowel or silent h.
• les’amis -> les amis - the plural les never elides; keep it written in full.
• un’école -> une école - un/une never elide; only le/la do.
• J’ai questions -> J’ai des questions - plural countable nouns need des; French does not drop it like English.
• l’héros -> le héros - the aspirated h blocks elision on a few words.

Tips

• Learn each noun with its article (la table, not just table) - it fixes the gender in your memory.
• Definite vs indefinite = “the” vs “a / some”. Ask: specific/known (le, la, les) or new/unspecified (un, une, des)?
• des is the plural you keep saying out loud - English hides it (“I buy apples”), French shows it (J’achète des pommes).
• Elision is automatic before a vowel sound: if le/la meets a, e, i, o, u or silent h, it becomes l’.
• After a negation, un/une/des usually turn into de/d’: J’ai un stylo -> Je n’ai pas de stylo (see Lesson 10).
• With à and de, le and les contract to au, aux, du, des - covered next in Lesson 4.