Four forms for "the"
English has one word, "the". French chooses by the gender of the noun (masculine or feminine) and by number. There is no neutral form.
The four forms
| Form | When |
|---|---|
| le | masculine singular |
| la | feminine singular |
| l' | singular before a vowel or silent h |
| les | plural, masculine and feminine |
le and la: masculine and feminine
Before a noun that starts with a consonant, use le or la. Which one depends on the noun, so learn each noun together with its article.
le livre
the book
le garçon
the boy
le pain
the bread
la table
the table
la fille
the girl
la maison
the house
l' before a vowel and silent h
l'école
the school
feminine: la + école
l'ami
the friend
masculine: le + ami
l'hôtel
the hotel
silent h
After l' you can no longer see the gender, so learn it with the noun.
les in the plural
The plural has only one form: les, for masculine and feminine nouns alike. Before a vowel the s is pronounced as [z]: les amis sounds like [lezami].
les livres
the books
les filles
the girls
les amis
the friends
When does French need "the"?
For known things, "the" works as in English. In addition, French uses the article for things meant in general (likes, statements about all), and for countries and languages. English has no article there.
J'aime le café.
I like coffee.
In English without "the".
Les chiens sont fidèles.
Dogs are loyal.
La France est belle.
France is beautiful.
J'apprends le français.
I am learning French.
After parler the article is mostly dropped before a language: Je parle français. (I speak French.)
