Grammar
You learned the basic French articles yesterday, so today we will build upon that more.
Review:
In English, the typical articles are the or a. In French, the articles le, la, and les (the) are called definite articles, or les articles définis. The articles un, une, and des are known as les articles indéfinis, or indefinite articles.
Singular masculine articles:
le (the) and un (a).
Singular feminine articles:
la (the) and une (a).
Plural masculine and feminine articles:
les (the) and des (some).
Example:
Listen Track 27
La fille = the girl (feminine definite article)
Une fille = a girl (feminine indefinite article)
Les filles = the girls (plural feminine definite article)
Des filles = some girls (plural feminine indefinite article)
Note: the plural form means that you must add an extra s to the end of the noun. It is this paired with the plural article that denotes the number of the noun.
We are going to add a new type of article to the list today.
Les articles partitifs
Les articles partitifs, or partitive articles, are most closely related to some or any in English. Oftentimes used in relation to food or drink, the partitive article indicates an unknown quantity of something. This can be tricky for English-speakers, mostly because we largely ignore our use (or lack of use) of the partitive articles. “I bought cheese” would always be sufficient for English, but in French you must say “I bought (some) cheese,” or “J’achète du fromage.”
There are four different forms that can be used based on number and gender:
1. “du” (masculine)
2. “de la” (feminine)
3. “de l’” (masculine or feminine, used in front of a vowel or silent h)
4. “des” (masculine or feminine plural)
To figure out which one to use, keep the noun’s number, gender, and first letter in mind:
1. If the noun is singular and starts with a silent vowel or h (known as an h muet), use de l’.
2. If the noun is plural, use des.
3. If the noun is singular or starts with a consonant or aspirate h (known as an h aspire), use du for the masculine noun and de la for the feminine noun.
Example:
Je mange de la glace. I’m eating (some) ice cream.
La glace (ice cream) is feminine, and since this person is not indicating they are eating an ice cream cone (or denoting a specific number of ice cream cones), de la is necessary.
Example:
Ils achètent du poisson. They bought (some) fish.
Poisson (fish) is masculine, so here we use du to indicate that (some) indefinite number of fish are being bought.
Example:
Je bois de l’eau. I’m drinking (some) water.
Eau (water) is feminine, and since this noun starts with an e, de l’ is the appropriate article.
Example:
Je mange des petits pois. I’m eating (some) peas.
Petits pois (peas) is a masculine plural, so we use des to indicate that you ate (some) peas.
Note: When the quantity is unknown or uncountable, use the partitive article. When the quantity is known or countable, use the indefinite article (or the number of whatever it is you are counting).
Example:
Je mange du pamplemousse. I’m eating (some) grapefruit.
Je mange un pamplemousse. I’m eating a (one) grapefruit.
La négation: Negation
Okay, so now that we have gotten the articles down, we must now remember some exceptions. Negation of articles is easy to remember if you keep this in mind:
Indefinite Articles and Partitive Articles = NE + VERB + PAS DE + NOUN
Definite articles do not follow this, so all you have to do is add the negation form of ne + verb + pas and add your definite article.
Example:
J’aime la pizza. I like pizza.
Je n’aime pas la pizza. I don’t like pizza.
Since la is a definite article, all we have to do is sandwich ne + pas in between the verb aimer.
Example:
Je mange de la pizza. I eat pizza.
Je ne mange pas de pizza. I don’t eat pizza.
Because “I eat pizza” does not indicate a definite amount, we use the feminine partitive article de la in this instance. The partitive article makes the pas…de exception in the negation form, so we would use pas de pizza instead of the incorrect pas de la pizza.
Because “I eat pizza” does not indicate a definite amount, we use the feminine partitive article de la in this instance. The partitive article makes the pas…de exception in the negation form, so we would use pas de pizza instead of the incorrect pas de la pizza.
The masculine indefinite article un is utilized here. Indefinite articles follow the pas…de exception for negation, so we would use pas de gâteau to indicate that the person is not buying cake.
Reference the chart below to keep in mind how to properly use articles and negation exceptions.
Les articles
Listen to Track 28
Definite Articles | Partitive Articles | Indefinite Articles |
|---|---|---|
J’aime le kiwi. Je n’aime pas le kiwi. | Je mange du kiwi. Je ne mange pas de kiwi. | J’achète un kiwi. Je n’achète pas de kiwi. |
J’aime la pomme. Je n’aime pas la pomme. | Je mange de la pomme. Je ne mange pas de pomme. | J’achète une pomme. Je n’achète pas de pomme. |
J’aime l’ananas. Je n’aime pas l’ananas. | Je mange de l’ananas. Je ne mange pas d’ananas. | J’achète un ananas. Je n’achète pas d’ananas. |
J’aime les fraises. Je n’aime pas les fraises. | Je mange des fraises. Je ne mange pas de fraises. | J’achète des fraises. Je n’achète pas de fraises. |