Lesson 1 – Grammar: Definite Articles (le, la, l’, les)
The French definite article that corresponds to English “the” has several shapes. Let’s explore them step by step.
1. Singular: le
le occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a consonant (masculine).
| French | English |
|---|
| le restaurant | the restaurant |
| le frère | the brother |
2. Singular: la
la occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a consonant (feminine).
| French | English |
|---|
| la rue | the street |
| la soeur | the sister |
Note: You cannot switch articles — e.g. connaissance is only la, never le.
3. Singular: l’
l’ occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a vowel. It is pronounced together with the noun.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|
| l’ami | (la-mi) | the friend |
| l’enfant | (len-fant) | the child |
4. Plural: les
les occurs in front of all French plural nouns (regardless of gender).
| French | English |
|---|
| les parents | the parents |
| les amis | the friends |
Remember: When les is followed by a noun starting with a vowel, the s is pronounced like z.
5. Synthesis Table
| Number | Gender | Before consonant | Before vowel |
|---|
| Singular | Masculine | le | l’ |
| Feminine | la | l’ |
| Plural | Both genders | les |
6. Examples
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| Voilà la porte. | Voilà les portes. |
| Voilà la classe. | Voilà les classes. |
| Voilà le livre. | Voilà les livres. |
| Voilà le restaurant. | Voilà les restaurants. |
| Voilà l’ami. | Voilà les amis. |
| Voilà l’enfant. | Voilà les enfants. |