Un 1.4
(In)definite Articles
Articles are an important, yet often hard to translate, part of many languages. They reflect important aspects of those languages’ logic, as well as play an important role in a language’s grammar. In French, there are three types of articles: indefinite, definite and partitive. Here, we will speak about the first two types of articles, the indefinite and definite.
Indefinite Articles - Articles indéfinis
Indefinite articles are used to indicate that a noun is not (yet) specified, i.e. the listener/reader does not (yet) know exactly which one is being referred to. The noun in question has so far not been identified, named or mentioned, and it might not be vital to know which one it is. In English, the indefinite article a(n) is used for singular nouns, whereas no article is used for the plural.
e.g.
|
There’s a table. |
you and/or I don’t know exactly WHICH table it is, just that there is one, unspecified table |
|
There are books. |
you and/or I don’t know exactly WHICH books they are, just that they are some, unspecified books |
In French, the indefinite is shown using three separate forms.
|
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
Masculine |
un |
des |
|
Feminine |
une |
des |
In the singular, a distinction is made using ‘un’ or ‘une’ to show grammatical gender. This is not the case in the plural.
e.g.
|
C’est un livre. (m. sg.) |
This is a book. |
Ce sont des livres. (m. pl.) |
These are books. |
|
C’est une table. (f. sg.) |
This is a table. |
Ce sont des tables. (f. pl.) |
These are tables. |
When speaking of a person’s profession, religion, or any other noun in order to define someone, no article is used.
e.g.
|
Elle est étudiante. |
She’s a student. |
|
Behati et Hugo sont amis. |
Behati and Hugo are friends. |
Definite Articles - Articles définis
Definite articles are used to indicate that a noun is already specified, i.e. the listener/reader already knows which one is being referred to. The noun in question has already been named or identified, or it is clear from context exactly which one is being referred to. In English, the definite article ‘the’ is used.
e.g.
|
It’s the math teacher. |
you and I both know exactly WHICH math teacher it is |
In French, this concept is shown using another group of articles.
|
|
Singular |
Plural |
|
Masculine |
le |
les |
|
Feminine |
la |
les |
|
before a vowel or unaspirated ‘h’ |
l’ |
les |
In the singular, the masculine-feminine distinction is made, based on the grammatical gender of the corresponding noun. Also, in the singular, the definite article contracts with its noun if the noun begins with a vowel or an unaspirated ‘h’. This is not the case in the plural.
e.g.
|
C’est le tableau. (m. sg.) |
This is the board. |
|
C’est l’élève. (m. sg.) |
This is the (school) student. |
|
Ce sont les étudiants. (m. pl.) |
These are the (university) students. |
|
C’est la salle de classe. (f. sg.) |
This is the classroom. |
|
C’est l’école. (f. sg.) |
This is the school. |
|
Ce sont les enseignantes. (f. pl.) |
These are the teachers. |
One major difference between the use of English and French articles can be seen in the use of ‘abstract’ nouns, where English will not use any article and French will use a definite article. Similarly, names of countries and provinces/states typically receive a definite article in French.
e.g.
|
C’est l’amour. |
It’s love. |
|
La biologie est intéressante. |
Biology is interesting. |
|
Le Québec est une province officiellement francophone. |
Quebec is an officially francophone province. |
|
La Côte d’Ivoire est membre de la francophonie. |
Côte d’Ivoire is a member of the francophonie. |
Indefinite vs Definite - Indéfini vs défini
Indefinite and definite articles are used with countable nouns, i.e. nouns that have a possible plural form.
e.g.
|
C’est un crayon. |
This is a pencil. |
|
Ce sont les crayons. |
These are the pencils. |
The choice of indefinite or definite articles is very dynamic in communication, as the reality of who knows what changes.
e.g.
|
A: Il y a une université. |
A: There’s a university. |
|
B : C’est une grande université ? |
B: Is it a big university? |
|
A : Non, l’université est petite. |
A: No, the university’s small. |
As articles are found in virtually every sentence, learners need to make sure they have an overall understanding of how they work. Using the wrong article, or none at all, may lead to miscommunications.
|
Articles / Les articles |
|||
|
Indefinite |
Singular |
Masculine |
un |
|
Feminine |
une |
||
|
Plural |
Masculine |
des |
|
|
Feminine |
des |
||
|
Definite |
Singular |
Masculine |
le |
|
Feminine |
la |
||
|
*before vowel/unaspirated ‘h’ |
l’ |
||
|
Plural |
Masculine |
les |
|
|
Feminine |
les |
||
An effective strategy for learning new nouns and their grammatical gender is to learn both the noun itself and the indefinite singular article that would precede it in a sentence, as this article will unambiguously indicate the noun’s grammatical gender.
e.g.
| un ordinateur | ‘un’ is always used for indefinite masculine singular nouns – whereas with the definite article, ‘l’ordinateur’ doesn’t clearly indicate grammatical gender |
| une école | ‘une’ is always used for indefinite feminine singular nouns – whereas with the definite article, ‘l’école’ doesn’t clearly indicate grammatical gender |
