Goal
You’ll be able to use definite and indefinite articles correctly, matching gender and number, and understand the genuinely important contracted forms that occur before vowel sounds.
Learn
Definite articles (equivalent to “the”):
le (masculine singular) — le livre la (feminine singular) — la table les (plural, both genders) — les livres
Indefinite articles (equivalent to “a/an” or “some”):
un (masculine singular) — un livre une (feminine singular) — une table des (plural, both genders) — des livres
A genuinely important French-specific detail: le and la both contract to l’ before a word starting with a vowel sound — l’ami (the friend, masculine), l’école (the school, feminine). This contraction happens purely for pronunciation reasons, genuinely masking the noun’s gender in that specific form, which is exactly why learning the noun’s actual gender (not just its contracted article form) matters for correctly using adjectives and pronouns later.
Decision Task
You want to say “the friend” (ami, masculine, starting with a vowel sound). Before reading on: would you write le ami or l’ami?
Show Answer
L’ami — since ami starts with a vowel sound, le contracts to l’ for pronunciation reasons. Le ami would be incorrect; the contraction is required, not optional.
Common Mistake
Forgetting to contract le or la to l’ before a vowel sound, or conversely, forgetting that this contracted form still has an underlying gender that matters for later agreement (adjectives, pronouns) even though it’s masked in the contracted article itself.
Practice Questions
1. Write the correct definite article for livre (book, masculine singular).
Show Answer
le
2. Write the correct indefinite article for table (table, feminine singular).
Show Answer
une
3. Write the correct contracted article for école (school, feminine, starting with a vowel sound).
Show Answer
l’école
4. Why does le contract to l’ before a vowel sound?
Show Answer
For pronunciation reasons — avoiding an awkward vowel-to-vowel sound clash.
5. Does the plural definite article les change based on gender?
Show Answer
No — les is used for both masculine and feminine plural nouns.
Try It Yourself
Without looking back, write the complete phrase for “a friend” using ami (masculine, starting with a vowel sound), choosing the correct indefinite article.
Show Answer
un ami — indefinite articles (un/une) do not contract before vowel sounds the way definite articles do; only le and la contract to l’.
Quick Check
1. What is the masculine singular definite article?
Show Answer
le
2. What is the feminine singular definite article?
Show Answer
la
3. What is the plural definite article, regardless of gender?
Show Answer
les
4. What do le and la contract to before a vowel sound?
Show Answer
l’
5. Do indefinite articles (un/une) contract before vowel sounds?
Show Answer
No — only definite articles contract this way.