Chapter 9: Les Articles (The Gender Game)

In the French world, everything has a gender. The table is a girl, the coffee is a boy. Let's make sense of it.

The Concept of Gender

Unlike English, where "the" is just "the", French nouns are either Masculine or Feminine. You must use the correct article (the word for "the" or "a") that matches the gender of the noun.


Tip: Don't just memorize "Table". Memorize "La Table". Always learn the noun with its article.

Part 1: Definite Articles ("The")

Use these when talking about a specific thing (The dog, The house).

Masculine

Le

Examples:

  • Le garçon
  • Le café
  • Le cinéma

Feminine

La

Examples:

  • La fille
  • La maison
  • La voiture

Plural

Les

Examples (Both Genders):

  • Les cafés
  • Les maisons
  • Les amis

Part 2: The "Haters" (Vowel Conflict)

French hates it when two vowels touch. If a singular noun (Masc or Fem) starts with a Vowel or silent H, Le and La both become L'.

L'

The solution to awkward sounds

Part 3: Indefinite Articles ("A / An / Some")

Use these when talking about any thing (A dog, An apple), not a specific one.

Masculine (A) Feminine (A) Plural (Some)
Un
Un garçon, Un café
Une
Une fille, Une pizza
Des
Des cafés, Des pizzas
Note: "Des" is the plural of Un/Une. In English we often just say the plural noun ("I have cats"), but in French you MUST say "J'ai des chats" (I have some cats).

Gender Guesser

Guess the correct article for the noun shown!

Mode: Le/La/L' Score: 0
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