1.TABLE OF CONTENTSLesson Plan 2: MAKING THINGS REALLY CLEAR WITH ARTICLES! ............... 2Fast Forward! ........................................................................ 2Define it ............................................................................ 2Or not! ................................................................................ 2Making Things Specific (Definite) in French..................................... 2 Par Exemple ............................................................. 3Making Things General (Indefinite) in French................................... 5Par Exemple ............................................................. 5When Indefinite and Definite Work Together in French ...................... 5A Versatile Word: De ............................................................. 6Sounds in Pronunciation ......................................................... 6Par Exemple ............................................................. 7Par Exemple ............................................................. 8Action Replay! ....................................................................... 9More Audio!........................................................................... 9 Extra Words .............................................................. 9Les Activits.........................................................................11Le, La, L or Les?.................................................................11Un, Une or Des? ..................................................................12A Versatile Word, De .........................................................13Un Jeu Dimages! ................................................................14Les Rponses ........................................................................18Le, La, Lor Les? .................................................................18Un, Une, D or Des?..............................................................18A Versatile Word, De ............................................................19Un Jeu Dimages! ................................................................19All rights reserved. Copyright 2003-2005 by www.rocketlanguages.comNo part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electrical or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, orby any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writingfrom the author and publisher. -1-

2. Lesson Plan 2: MAKING THINGS REALLY CLEAR WITHARTICLES!Fast Forward!Lesson Plan 2 is about the little words that make language really clear:The, A, Some, Several, Of, Of the and Any.As you work through this Lesson Plan, you will inevitably come across newwords and new expressions. You may feel that a lot of new material andunpredictable rules are being placed in front of you. Not all of it will makesense at first!If we dissect the rules too much, you will find yourself caught up by thetechnical side of the language. Rather allow yourself the benefit ofenjoying the experience even when you have questions left un-answered..for the moment! You will see that by the time you reach theend of Lesson Plan 2, that the Activities will clarify and reinforce yourprogress.Define it .You may not have learned this at school, but in English the word the iscalled a definite article. That is because the word the points to a veryspecific thing.For example, you may tell someone, I want the mug assuming that theywill bring you the mug you have in mind.Or not!However, if you tell them, I want a mug, you will get whatever mug theychoose to hand you! That is because the words a or an or some areindefinite articles and point to a general group of items, things, people orplaces.Making Things Specific (Definite) in FrenchAs mentioned in Lesson Plan 1, about the concept of gender, the shortdefining word before the noun is really part of the noun. Remember lechien and la chienne, le musician and la musicienne?One of the most common words in any language is the. In French, theis not just one word. Rather there are a total of 4 ways to write andpronounce them, depending on the gender and quantity of the noun towhich each refers. -2- 3. The French word for the, if followed by a masculine noun, is Le. Iffollowed by a feminine noun, is La and when followed by any noun in theplural, is Les. For example, if there is one (male) cat, we say Le chat.If there are two or more cats, we say Les chats. If there is one woman,we say La femme. If there are two or more women, we say Lesfemmes. Le chatLes chatsAny noun beginning with a vowel is always preceded by an apostrophe,L. The apostrophe is inserted in between the article or pronoun and thenoun or the verb. This is because two vowel sounds in French cannot followfrom one word to another. There are more examples of this rule in thisLesson Plan.In summary: The + masculine noun= le The + feminine noun = la The + any noun beginning with a vowel = l The + any plural noun = les Par Exemple2.1 Le garonThe boy2.2 Les garonsThe boys2.3 La filleThe girl2.4 Les filles Les fillesThe girls2.5 LinvitThe guest (a man) -3- 4. 2.6Les invits The guests2.7Lenfant The child2.8Les enfants The children2.9Le livre The book Lenfant2.10 Les livres The books2.11 La pomme The apple2.12 Les pommes The apples2.13 La librairie The bookstore2.14 Les librairiesLes livres The bookstores2.15 Le jeu The game2.16 Les jeux The gamesLe jeuLes pommes -4- 5. Making Things General (Indefinite) in FrenchJust as the previous section refers to making things specific using the inFrench, with Le, La, Les and L, in this section, we talk about theways to make things general, or indefinite. In French, there are 3 ways ofusing the indefinite articles a, an, some or several.A or An + masculine noun = unA or An + feminine noun= uneSome or Several + any plural noun= desNote that some and several are interchangeable and explained in moredetail further on in this Lesson Plan.Par Exemple2.17 Une fleur A flower2.18 Des fleurs Some flowers2.19 Une copineUn crayon A friend (a woman)2.20 Des copines Several friends (women)2.21 Un crayon A pencil2.22 Des crayons Several pencils Des crayonsWhen Indefinite and Definite Work Together in FrenchSome and several in French are interchangeable with any and ofthe. These articles also help to define words and quantities, and aresubject to gender rules. This means that almost everything new you learn inFrench will be subject to these questions:Is it a female group of words?Is it a male group of words?Is it plural?Does it begin with a vowel?-5- 6. A Versatile Word: DeThe next group of defining words of the, of, some, several, orany are used with singular, plural, masculine and feminine nouns. Theroot word de is used and as you might guess, this means it needs to bevery versatile! De generally changes form as follows to mean of andof the. of or of the + masculine noun = de or du of or of the + feminine noun= de la of or of the + any noun starting with a vowel = d or de l of or of the + any plural noun= desSounds in PronunciationFirst a note about pronunciation as it relates to the use of de. As wementioned to you in your Learning Companion, when speaking French, wordsmust be linked to one another by sound. When there are too many vowelsounds that clash with the phonetic principles, they are simply eliminated.It can be explained by saying that the rules exist to be broken when itdoesnt sound just right to the linguists! In French, the expression thatsused to explain this principle is faire la liaison entre les mots, whichmeans, to make connections between words.As you get used to the various forms of de, as it is used in of, and ofthe, its important to bring your attention to this rule about la liaison.Vowels cant follow straight on from one word to another. We have givenyou two examples so far: Linvit and lenfant which start with a L instead of a Le. This isbecause Le would be followed by the sound i in invit, and by thesound e in enfant, and would be grammatically and phoneticallyincorrect.A very similar principle applies when using of and of the with a nounlike Le garcon. As you will see from the following examples the boysgame is written Le jeu du garcon, not Le jeu de-le garcon, as youmight expect.In other words, when the sound of two vowels together clash, such as dele, a kind of short cut rule applies, making it du for the purpose ofsounding more fluent. For feminine words, de la doesnt change, unlessthe word begins with a vowel, when de la becomes de l.You will also note from the following examples that a literal translation hasbeen included in brackets, because there is no equivalent in French for theuse of the apostrophe as it is used in English. The childrens game, forexample, is literally translated as the game of the children. This is wherede, in its various forms as explained above, comes into action. -6- 7. Par Exemple2.23Le jeu des enfantsThe childrens game (The game of the children)2.24Le jeu de lenfantThe childs game (The game of the child)2.25Le jeu de la filleThe girls game (The game of the girl)2.26Le jeu du garonThe boys game (The game of the boy)2.27Le jeu de linvitThe guests game (The game of the guest)2.28Le got du fromage (masculine)The taste of the cheese2.29La couleur du vin (masculine) La couleur du vinThe color of the wine2.30La fracheur du pain (masculine)The freshness of the bread2.31La qualit de la confiture (feminine)The quality of the jam2.32La beaut de lactrice (feminine + vowel)The beauty of the actress La beaut de lactriceLa fracheur du painAs well as being used to say of or of the in the plural, as we saw above,du, de la , d, de l and des are also used to mean and some andseveral. In effect, this is when the article a or an becomes a plural,to mean more than just one. -7- 8. Par Exemple2.33Du fromage (masculine)Some cheese2.34Du vin (masculine)Some wine2.35Du pain (masculine)Some breadDu pain2.36De la confiture (feminine)Some jam2.37De largent (masculine + vowel)Some money2.38De lomelette (feminine + vowel)Some omelet Du fromageDe largentDu vin -8- 9. Action Replay!Le, La, L and Les The + masculine noun= le The + feminine noun = la The + any noun beginning with a vowel = l The + any plural noun = lesUn, Une and Des A or An + masculine noun= un A or An + feminine noun = une Some or Several + any plural noun = desDe, Du, De La, D, De L and Des Of or Of the + masculine noun = de or du Of or Of the + feminine noun= de la Of or Of the + any noun starting with a vowel = d or de l Of or Of the + any plural noun= desMore Audio!These audio tracks are for all the words in this Lesson Plan that you haventheard yet! Most of them will be used in the following exercises. Extra Words2.39La piocheThe spade2.40Les larmes The tears2.41Ah oui!Ah, yes!2.42Le pouletThe chicken2.43Les gouttesThe drops2.44La pluie The rain2.45Oh l l!Oh my!2.46Les secretsThe secrets2.47Un anniversaireA birthday2.48La brosseThe hairbrush2.49Autour Around2.50Un jourA day2.51Une fte A party/gathering/feast -9- 10. 2.52 Une familleA family2.53 Pour For2.54 Une omelette An omelet2.55 LarbreThe tree2.56 Les arbres The trees2.57 Une histoire A story2.58 LamourLove2.59 Une bouteilleA bottle2.60 Une gousse dail A clove of garlic2.61 Un morceau A piece2.62 Une trancheA slice2.63 Un boutA piece2.64 Beaucoup A lot of, much2.65 Un peu A little, a bit2.66 Un pot A pot2.67 La maisonThe house2.68 Le prixThe price2.69 La chambre The room2.70 LhotelThe hotel2.71 Un hotel A hotel2.72 LhpitalThe hospital2.73 Des morceaux Pieces (several)2.74 Le bruit The noise2.75 Une oliveAn olive- 10 - 11. Les ActivitsLe, La, L or Les?In the first space provided, write whether the noun should have la, le, l orles in front of it! And in the second space write the English translation!Le, La, L or LesTranslationExample La chaise The chair _Q.1_____ garon______________Q.2_____ livre ______________Q.3_____ fille ______________Q.4_____ arbre ______________Q.5_____ librairie ______________Q.6_____ enfant______________Q.7_____ pommes______________Q.8_____ arbres______________Q.9_____ filles______________Q.10 _____ invits ______________Q.11 _____ garons ______________Q.12 _____ livres______________Q.13 _____ enfants ______________Q.14 _____ invit______________Q.15 _____ librairies______________Q.16 _____ jeux______________Q.17 _____ pomme ______________Q.18 _____ jeu ______________ - 11 - 12. Un, Une or Des?In the space provided, write whether the noun should have un, une or desin front of it.Example une chaiseQ.19 _____ garonQ.20 _____ livreQ.21 _____ filleQ.22 _____ arbreQ.23 _____ librairieQ.24 _____ enfantQ.25 _____ pommesQ.26 _____ arbresQ.27 _____ fillesQ.28 _____ invitsQ.29 _____ garonsQ.30 _____ livresQ.31 _____ enfantsQ.32 _____ invitQ.33 _____ librairiesQ.34 _____ jeuxQ.35 _____ pommeQ.36 _____ jeuQ.37 _____ actriceQ.38 _____ oliveQ.39 _____ actricesQ.40 _____ olives- 12 - 13. A Versatile Word, DeIn the first space provided in the sentences below choose from Un, Une orDes for a an or several.In the second space provided in the sentences below choose from thefollowing de, d, des, du, de l or de la for of the, of, several/some.Q.41_____ histoire ___amour a story of loveQ.42_____ bouteille ___ vin a bottle of wineQ.43_____ gousse ___ aila clove of garlicQ.44_____ morceau ___ fromage a piece of cheeseQ.45_____ tranche ___ paina slice of breadQ.46_____ bout ___ pain a piece of breadQ.47Beaucoup ___ monnaiea lot of moneyQ.48____ peu ___ argent a bit of moneyQ.49Le got ___ ___ confiture the taste of the jamQ.50____ pots ___ confiture several/some jars of jamQ.51Lhistoire ___ ___ maison the story of the houseQ.52La fracheur ___ pain the freshness of the breadQ.53Le got ___ vin the taste of the wineQ.54Le prix ___ ___ chambre the price of the roomQ.55____ chambre ___ hpitala hospital room(a room of the hospital)Q.56____ chambre ___ htela hotel room(a room of the hotel)Q.57____chambres ___ htelseveral/some rooms of the hotelQ.58____ morceaux ___ fromage several/some pieces of cheeseQ.59Le bruit ____ arbresthe sound of the treesQ.60____ gousses ___ ailseveral/some cloves of garlic - 13 - 14. Un Jeu Dimages!Write the English translation in the space provided on the right. Then, onthe next line, write the French translation of the English phrase on the left. En franais! (In French!) En Anglais! (In English!)Q.61La pioche du travailleur____________________ ________________ A spadeQ.62 Le crayon du garon____________________ _______________A pencilQ.63 Les larmes de la fille ____________________ _______________(Several) Tears - 14 - 15. Q.64 Lanniversaire du garon_________________________________A boyQ.65 La brosse de Marie____________________ _____________ A hairbrushQ.66 Ah oui! Du poulet!____________________ _______________ The chefs chicken- 15 - 16. Q.67Oh l l, des secrets!____________________________________A secretQ.68Des fleurs pour Marie ______________________________________Maries flowersQ.69Des chaises autour de la table______________________________________A chair - 16 - 17. Q.70 Un jour de fte _________________________ ________________Maries partyQ.71 Une fte de famille _________________________ ________________(Several) PartiesQ.72 Des gouttes de pluie_________________________ _________________ A drop of rain- 17 - 18. Les RponsesLe, La, Lor Les?A.1Le garonThe boyA.2Le livre The bookA.3La fille The girlA.4LarbreThe treeA.5La librairie The bookshopA.6Lenfant The childA.7Les pommes The applesA.8Les arbres The treesA.9Les filles The girlsA.10 Les invitsThe guestsA.11 Les garonsThe boysA.12 Les livres The booksA.13 Les enfantsThe childrenA.14 Linvit The guestA.15 Les librairies The bookshopsA.16 Les jeux The toys/gamesA.17 La pomme The appleA.18 Le jeu The toy/gameUn, Une, D or Des?A.19 Un garonA.20 Un livreA.21 Une filleA.22 Un arbreA.23 Une librairieA.24 Un enfantA.25 Des pommesA.26 Des arbresA.27 Des fillesA.28 Des invitsA.29 Des garonsA.30 Des livresA.31 Des enfantsA.32 Un invitA.33 Des librairiesA.34 Des jeuxA.35 Une pommeA.36 Un jeuA.37 Une actriceA.38 Des actrices - 18 - 19. A.39Une oliveA.40Des olivesA Versatile Word, DeA.41Une histoire damourA.42Une bouteille de vinA.43Une gousse d ailA.44Un morceau de fromageA.45Une tranche de painA.46Un bout de painA.47Beaucoup de monnaieA.48Un peu dargentA.49Le got de la confitureA.50Des pots de confitureA.51Lhistoire de la maisonA.52La fracheur du painA.53Le got du vinA.54Le prix de la chambreA.55Une chambre dhpitalA.56Une chambre dhtelA.57Des chambres dhtelA.58Des morceaux de fromageA.59Le bruit des arbresA.60Des gousses dailUn Jeu Dimages!A.61The workers spade Une piocheA.62The boys pencil Un crayonA.63The girls tears Des larmesA.64The boys birthday Un garonA.65Maries hairbrushUne brosseA.66Alright! Chicken!Le poulet du chefA.67Oh My! Secrets!Un secretA.68Some flowers for Marie Les fleurs de MarieA.69Several chairs around the tableUne chaiseA.70A day of celebration La fte de MarieA.71A family celebration Des ftesA.72Rain drops Une goutte de pluieLa Fin- 19 -