French Articles: Le, La, Les, Un, Une, Des (One Map for All Three)
French articles in one map: definite (le/la/les), indefinite (un/une/des) and partitive (du/de la). The golden rule: French almost never drops the article.
French has three article systems: definite (le, la, les - specific things), indefinite (un, une, des - unspecified things), and partitive (du, de la, de l’ - “some” of something uncountable). Unlike English, French almost never drops the article: j’aime le café, not “j’aime café.”
Quick answer
French has three article systems: definite (le, la, les - specific things), indefinite (un, une, des - unspecified things), and partitive (du, de la, de l’ - “some” of something uncountable). Unlike English, French almost never drops the article: j’aime le café, not “j’aime café.”
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Definite articles: le, la, les, l’
For specific or known things - elision before a vowel: l’ami (the friend).
Indefinite articles: un, une, des
For unspecified/countable things; des is the plural “some” - j’ai des amis (I have [some] friends).
Partitive articles: du, de la, de l’, des
For uncountable/“some” things - du pain (some bread), de l’eau (some water). The full food-vocabulary connection lives in food vocabulary in French.
The golden rule: don’t drop the article
J’aime le café (not “j’aime café”) - a consistent, real error source for English speakers, whose language freely drops articles in ways French simply doesn’t allow.
Contractions: à+le=au, de+le=du
| Combination | Contracts to |
|---|---|
| à + le | au |
| à + les | aux |
| de + le | du |
| de + les | des |
For the fuller preposition system these contractions belong to, see à and de contractions.
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Questions about this note
What's the difference between le and un?
le/la are definite ("the"), un/une are indefinite ("a/an").
What is a partitive article?
du, de la, de l' - used for "some" of an uncountable thing, like du pain.
Can I skip the article in French?
Almost never - French requires it far more often than English.
What does à + le become?
au (contraction); de + le becomes du.
What's the plural indefinite article?
des - j'ai des amis (I have [some] friends).