Post on 26-Mar-2015
French articles
le, la, l’, les
un, une, des
le, la, l’, les (definite articles)
• What do these words mean?
• These words all mean the.
• So how do you know which one to use?????
LE. LA. L’. LES (definite articles)
- LES -
• Well, first of all, if the noun is plural, there is only one possibility:
• les• For example, to say the teachers you
would say:• les professeurs.
• What other nouns do you know are masculine?
LES
- LE -
• 1. fruits• 2. sports• 3. légumes• 4. livres• 5. magazines• 6. fêtes• 7. animaux• 8. émissions
les
lesles
les
lesles
les
les
LES
• If your noun is singular (that means you’re talking about only one thing), then you have to choose from le, la, l’ .
LE. LA. L’.
LE. LA. L’.
• Your choice of definite article depends on the gender of the noun that follows.
• In French, every noun has a gender—it is either masculine or feminine.
• In order to choose between le or la, you have to know the gender of the noun.
• For example, the noun garçon (boy) is masculine.
• If you want to say the boy you would say:
•le garçon.
• What other nouns do you know are masculine?
LE
• 1. bateau• 2. journal• 3. bus• 4. cross• 5. jeu vidéo• 6. chocolat• 7. football américain• 8. chat
le
lele
le
lele
le
le
LE
• Since fille (snack bar) is femenine, how would you say the girl?
• La fille
• What other nouns do you know are femenine?
LE. LA. L’.
• 1. glace• 2. nourriture• 3. pizza• 4. natation• 5. musique• 6. fille• 7. porte• 8. chaise
la
lala
la
lala
la
la
LA
Reminder about plurals…
• But what if the noun is plural? For example, frites (fries).
• How would I say the fries?
• les frites
• (You can see that if a noun is plural, you don’t really need to know if it’s masculine or feminine in order to choose the correct article.)
• So when do we use l’ ?
• See if you can figure out the rule:• l’oiseau (m) = the bird• l’agrafeuse (f) = the stapler• l’école (f) = the school• What do these words have in
common?
LE. LA. L’.
• That’s right!! They all start with a vowel AND they are singular.
• Sooooo, l’ is used to mean the in front of a masculine or feminine noun starting with a vowel.
• “h”s are silent in french so this applies to words that start with “h” also• Exemple: l’horloge
LE. LA. L’.
Révision
• 1. _____ livre (m) = the book
• 2. _____ prix (m) = the price
• 3. _____ coupe glacée (f) = the ice cream sundae
• 4. _____boissons (f) = the drinks
• 5. _____oignons (m) = the onions
• 6. _____ ordinateur (m) = the computer
lelela
lesles
l’
Copiez
• Le w/ masculine, singular nouns
• La w/ femenine, singular nouns
• L’ w/ singular nouns that start with a vowel…(or “h”s)
• Les w/ plural nouns (m. or f.)
Vous êtes très intelligents!
• So let’s move on to indefinite articles…
Indefinite articles
• un, une & des are indefinite articles.(They don’t refer to any specific item—
any one will do.)
• Do you know what they mean?• un livre = a book• une portion = a serving• des frites = some fries
un, une, des
• Which one is used in front of a masculine singular noun?
• un
• Which one is used in front of a feminine singular noun?
• une
• So now I bet you can guess when to use des (some).
• That’s right! In front of a plural noun—either masculine or feminine!
How are your matching skills?
• 1. a piece• 2. the fries• 3. the piece• 4. an ice cream
sundae• 5. the order• 6. an order• 7. some desserts• 8. the desserts
• a) une commande• b) les desserts• c) un morceau• d) la commande• e) le morceau• f) une coupe
glacée• g) des desserts• h) les frites
vocabulaireles articles
• le• la• l’• les• un• une• des
• the (m.sing.)• the (f.sing.)• the (m/f + voyelle)• the (m/f pl.)• a/an (m.sing.)• a/an (f.sing.)• some (m/f pl.)
Notes (grammar section)Les articles
• Les articles définis: Definite articles.
• They refer to something definite.
• le - (m. sing.)
• la - (f. sing.)
• l’ - (m/f + vowel)
• les - (m/f pl.)
THE
• Ex. _______poulet
• _______pomme• _______oignon• _______frites• _______oignons
• the chicken
• the apple• the onion• the fries• the onions
le
les
la
l’
les
• Les articles indefinis: indefinite articles
• They refer to something unspecific. (Anyone will do.)
• un - (m. sing)
• une - (f. sing)
• des - (m/f pl.)
A, AN, SOME
• Our next lesson will cover the partitive articles du, de la, and de l’
Notes (grammaire section)les articles partitifs
• Les articles partitifs: Partitive articles.
• They are used when referring to only part of a given substance.
• du - (m. sing.)
• de la - (f. sing.)
• de l’ - (m/f + vowel)
• des - (m/f pl.)
SOME
ANY
• Ex. _______poulet
• _______pomme• _______oignon• _______frites• _______oignons
• some chicken
• some apple• some onion• some fries• some onions
du
des
de la
de l’
des
• Ex. I am eating some chicken.
• Je mange du poulet.
• (I am only eating a part of the chicken—not the whole thing.)
ATTENTION!
• In a negative sentence:
• du • de la de / d’• de l’• des• Ex. J’aime de la moutarde dans mon hot dog.• Je n’aime pas de moutarde dans mon hot dog.• Elle mange des oignons.• Elle ne mange pas d’oignons.
becomes
• While we’re at it….
• un de/d’• une (becomes)
in negative sentences.
Ex. J’ai un frère. I have a brother.
Je n’ai pas de frère. I don’t have a brother.
A pratiquer:• 1. I like (some)* mustard in my hot dog.• 2. We are eating (some) bread.• 3. We aren’t eating (any) bread.• 4. I don’t eat (any) onions.• 5. She eats (some)onions.• 6. They share (some) fries.• 7. They are sharing an ice-cream sundae.• 8. I am not sharing an ice-cream sundae. • *Note: In English, we don’t always say “some”
or “any”, but in French we always use the article before the noun.