Natalia Glukhova

Articles in French (Les Articles)

28/05 2017

Good afternoon friends! Today I will tell you about the articles in French. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, French was considered the most romantic language in Russia. This is due not only to culture, but also to the unusual pronunciation of words and expressions in the language.

The piquancy and some peculiarity of speech is given by guttural sounds and articles in French. There are no such parts of speech in Russian, therefore, in the modern world, students of a foreign language often omit this grammatical form, but this is completely in vain. After all, these little words are very important. Let's take a closer look at them.

All articles can be divided into three main groups: definite, indefinite and partial. Each of them has its own meaning and rules of use. Each group includes several words that are used before nouns.

From this article you will learn:

Out of context

The most frequently used article is the definite (Articles definis). Usually it can be found in stories, because its use depends on the meaning of the text. Such particles are placed in front of words denoting objects that have already been discussed earlier.

Thus, the speaker shows that he means exactly the subject that was mentioned earlier. Such a particle can also be used with items that are one of a kind. For example: la Terre - Earth.
There are three grammatical forms of Articles definis:

An illustration with examples will help you quickly remember these particles:

Remember that the abbreviation L 'can only be used before dumb h and before vowels. If, however, le / les is preceded by the preposition a, then they merge into the fused articles au / aux. This is reflected in the table below.
Except for rule-related cases, select Articles defines when you are talking about:

1. Dates: le 10 mars - 10 March.
2. Place names: Les Alpes - Alps.
3. Colors: le rouge - red.
4. The same rule says about the use of articles with the names of countries: la Bretagne. - Britain.

It's simple, isn't it? Well, then let's move on.

We do not know - we do not determine

If we are talking about an object for the first time in a conversation, or you do not know who or what exactly you are talking about, do not specify this, then you need to apply the indefinite article - Articles indefinis.

There are also three of these particles and their use depends on the grammatical characteristics of the noun.

For example, when you talk about a dog without having any specific meaning in mind, but pay attention only to gender or quantity:

If you talk about something or someone and talk about them for the first time in your story, then you also use indefinite particles. Later in your story, when naming these objects or people, you will already use the Le / La / Les particle.

There are times when Articles indefinis is replaced by the preposition de:

• In negatives, except for être: Noous n'avons pas de hareng. (We have no herring).
• If there is an adjective or a quantitative adverb before a plural noun: Ils ont de grandes chambres. (They have large rooms).

In addition, choose the indefinite article when you want to say the phrase with the turnovers c'est / ce sont. C'est un livre. This is a book.

Partial articles are formed by adding de to certain particles. In doing so, note that in some cases, de merges with le and results in a merged du. Similarly, the merged des is obtained.

Consider the table below. It will help you remember the uses and changes of the partial articles better:

Special expressions

There are times when you do not need to use any of the listed articles:

1. Possessive pronouns or demonstratives replace the article: Ceci est ma plume. - This is my pen.
2. Words denoting profession, activity, position and nation: Il est américain - He is American.
3. The seasons are also used without particles: l'hiver. - Winter.
4. From the names of the cities: Je vis à Moscou. - I live in Moscow.

There is no part of speech analogous to the articles in the Russian language. But if regularly

Many Russian-speaking people who want to learn French often have difficulty learning the article. This is not surprising, if only because in Russian, and in most Slavic languages, there are no articles and at first it is difficult to understand what they are for.
In fact, there is nothing complicated.
As you know, in the French language there are grammatical categories of gender and number. Nouns and adjectives can be feminine or masculine; singular and plural. It is the articles that help us in determining what kind and number is this or that noun.
Articles are definite and indefinite. The indefinite articles include "un" masculine article (un homme), "une" feminine article (une femme), "des" plural article for both genders (des hommes, des femmes). Indefinite articles are used in the following cases:
1. when a person or an object is mentioned for the first time in this context: un garçon entre dans la salle— (some previously unknown to us) boy enters the hall.
2. 2. The plural article "des" indicates an indefinite number of certain objects: Je vois des livres sur la vitrine - I see books in the window, but I do not know what kind of books they are and how many there are.
3. 3. If there is an adjective in front of a noun that characterizes it, then the indefinite article is placed before this adjective: c'est une belle femme is a beautiful woman.
a. It is important to remember the existence of a definite article, as it can often affect the meaning of a sentence. There are 3 definite articles: "le" is masculine (le pont); "La" is a feminine article (la fenêtre); "Les" is a plural article for both genders (les ponts, les fenêtres).
b. The definite article is used in the following cases:
c. 1. Before the noun mentioned earlier in the context: Un garçon entre la salle. Le garçon cherche son ami. - (some) boy enters the hall. (the same boy) is looking for his friend. We use the definite article because we already understand what kind of boy we are talking about.
d. 2. Before unique nouns: Le ciel est bleu. - Sky is blue. Since we have one sky, we put a definite article.
e. 3. To designate persons or objects in a given situation: les enfants de cette femme - the children of this woman. Although they were not mentioned before, we already understand that these are not some incomprehensible children, but specific ones, so we put a definite article.
f. 4. Before the surname in the plural, most often to designate the whole family: les Poirots — Poirot's family.
g. 5. Before the names of the countries: la France, le Canada.
h. 6. Before days of the week to indicate that an event occurs regularly on the same day: le samedi je vais à la campagne. - On Saturdays I go out of town.
i. Articles "le", "la" can be truncated; they take the form "l" before nouns beginning with a vowel or with an H (l’enfant, l’hiver).

In French, there is the concept of a continuous article. The definite articles "le", "les" can merge with the prepositions in front of them. In particular, this applies to the prepositions à and de.
Consider the schemes below:
1. A + le = au. Je parle au garçon - I'm talking to a boy.
2. à + les = aux. Il parle aux amis - He talks with friends.
3. De + le = du. Le livre du garçon is a boy's book.
4. De + les = des. La visite des parents - visit of the parents.
5. Remember: The feminine article never merges with prepositions: Je parle à la petite fille - I am talking to a little girl; Les musées de la France - museums in France.
6. In addition to the indefinite and definite article, there is also a partial article. It is used with uncountable nouns like water, tea, sugar, salt, etc. And also with abstract concepts, for example: happiness, love, etc.
7. The following forms of the partial article exist:
8. "du" for masculine nouns ((Je prends du thé);
9. "de la" for masculine nouns (Elle prend de la salade)
10. "de l" for nouns beginning with a vowel or dumb H (Tu prend de l’eau)
11. The partial article means that you do not take the whole item, but only some part of it. It replaces the indefinite article for uncountable nouns.
12. Thus, if you want to drink tea, you say "Je voudrais prendre du thé", but never "le thé" because that will mean that you want to drink all the tea in the world. The use of a partial article indicates a part of something whole. If you say J'aime le chocolat, it means that you like chocolate in general. But if you want to take chocolate, then you should use the partial article "du": Je veux du chocolat.
13. The partial article does not have a plural form, since uncountable nouns do not change in numbers.
There are a number of fixed expressions in which only a partial article is used, for example, faire du sport, faire de la musique, etc.

The definite article has the following forms:

le- for masculine singular

la- for feminine singular

les- for the plural of both genders

The definite article indicates that the subject is known by the conditions of the setting or context to the people speaking about it.

The definite article accompanies both countable and uncountable nouns.

Using the definite article:

1. The person or object is presented as completely definite, well known to the interlocutors:

• a situation for which this object is familiar, familiar

N'as-tu pas oublié les clés? - You did not forget keys?
Il vous faudra attendre. Le directeur est occupé. - You will have to wait. Director busy.

• the context in which the subject was previously mentioned

Au coin de la rue j'ai vu un homme.L'homme semblait attendre quelqu'un. - On the street corner I saw some person. It seemed that this person waiting for someone.

• the meaning of a noun when it comes to objects that are unique of their kind (soleil, lune, ciel, terre, etc.):

La Terre est ronde. - Earth round. Au printemps le ciel est bleu, le soleil brille. - In the spring sky blue, shines Sun.

• the presence of qualifying words (noun with the preposition de belonging, preposition infinitive de or clauses)

C'est un livre. C'est le livre de ma sœur.- This is a book. This is a book my sister's.
Elle a l'habitude de se lever tôt.- She has a habit get up early.
Racontez-nous le voyage que vous avez fait.- Tell us about your trip, which you did.

• superlative adjectives as well as adjectives seul, unique, premier, dernier, suivant, principal, etc.

C'est le meilleur livre dans ma bibliothèque. - It best book in my library.
C'était le dernier jour de la guerre. - It was last day war.

• verb prefix re-, conveying the meaning of a repeated action, which determines the complement of the verb:

Vous devez refaire le travail. - You should remake work (the same).

2. A generalized concept in full meaning: an abstract concept, a substance or an entire class of objects:

J'aime les enfants. - I love children.
Le chien est l'ami de l'homme. - Dog - friend of human.
La paresse est un grand défaut. - Laziness - big drawback.

Before words starting with a vowel or h dumb, definite article le and la, forms the truncated article l ’: l'Afrique, l'élève, l'hiver.

Definite articles le and les merge with the pretexts in front of them de and à and form fused articles:

Le livre du maître. Je parle au professeur.
Les cahiers desélèves. Je téléphone aux parents.

Ho:

Le livre de la maîtresse. Je vais a la gare.
Le cahier de l'Ami de Pierre. Je vais à l'école.

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Je prête mon livre a mon fils. - I lend my a book for my son.
Je le lui prête. - I AM her to him I give.

Pronouns combine: either the first column with the second, or the second with the third.

You can also remember the following. If both pronouns in a sentence begin with the letter l, then le, la, les always come first. And if for different letters, then le, la, les - in second place.

Together they form an indivisible whole, stand in front of the verb and, if necessary, negated together with the verb, as if being a part of himself.

Il ne nous les explique pas. - He us them does not explain.
Tu ne la lui corriges pas. - You don't fix it for him.

In compound times are denied together with ancillary verb.

Le professeur ne le leur a pas expliqué. - Teacher it is for them did not explain.

If a group of pronouns must be placed in the imperative mood (used for a request or order), the following rules are observed:

When denied

• pronouns stand before the verb
• in the usual way (as a general rule, see the table at the beginning of the document)

Ne me l "explique pas. - Don't explain it to me.
Ne le leur racontez pas. - Don't tell them this.

When approving

• pronouns stand after the verb
• while le, la, les always come first

Explique- le-moi... - Explain that to me.
Racontez- le-leur . – Tell it to them.

note that the following changes occur with the pronouns me and te:

me - moi
te- toi

If you need voice explanations of this grammar topic, as well as an additional set of exercises, you can find it in our audio course Grammar in MP3 with exercises and answers.

Exercises

Exercise number 1

Use the correct personal pronoun

1. Did she give her husband a present? I'm sure she made it to him.- Elle a fait un cadeau à son mari? Je suis sûre q "elle a fait. (le mari - husband)
2. I sent a letter to my grandmother. I sent it to her.- J "ai envoyé une lettre à ma grand-mère. Je ai envoyée.
3. Will you bring us newspapers to the office? We will bring them home to you.- Vous nous apporterez des journaux au bureau? Nous apporterons chez vous. (des journaux - newspapers)
4. Does your daughter ask you a lot of questions? She asks me them all the time.- Ta fille te pose beaucoup de questions? Elle pose toujours. (beaucoup de - a lot)
5. I'll tell you this story later. I'll tell you about it later.- Je te raconterai cette histoire plus tard. Je raconterai plus tard. (plus tard - later)
6. When will you send the package to them? We will send it to them the day after tomorrow.- Quand vous leur enverrez le colis? Nous enverrons après-demain.
7. Have you already told your parents the truth? No, but I'm going to tell them.- Vous avez déjà dit la vérité aux parents? Non, mais je vais dire.
8. Do not tell us that ever!- Ne dites jamais! (jamais - never)
9. Did she tell her life story to the kids? She told them it a long time ago.- Elle a raconté l "histoire de sa vie aux enfants? Elle a dite il y a longtemps déjà. (il y a longtemps - long time ago)
10. Does the teacher translate the text to his students? He doesn't translate it for them. They do it themselves.- Le professeur traduit le texte à ses étudiants? Il ne traduit pas. Ils le font eux-mêmes.
11. Children draw pictures for you? They draw them to us from time to time.- Les enfants vous dessinent les images? Ils dessinent de temps en temps.
12. Do you buy toys for children? Yes, I just bought them for them.- Vous achetez des jouets aux enfants? Oui, je viens de acheter. (des jouets - toys)
13. Does she comment on colleagues? She does them for them all the time.- Elle fait des remarques aux collègues? Elle fait tout le temps.
14. Have you announced this news to your friends? We announced it to them.- Vous avez annoncé cette nouvelle aux amis? Nous avons annoncée. (la nouvelle - news)
15. Do you bring flowers to your wife? I bring them to her sometimes.- Vous apportez des fleurs à votre femme? Je apporte parfois.
16. Why don't you return my book to me? I'll give it back to you later.- Pourquoi tu ne me rends pas mon livre? Je rendrai plus tard.
17. Did she show him her best photo? No, but she's going to show it to him.- Elle lui a montré sa meilleure photo? Non, mais elle va montrer. (meilleure is the best)
18. Have you bought your textbooks yet? I hope that my mother will buy them for me herself.- Tu as déjà acheté des manuels? J "espère que ma maman achetera elle-même.
19. They don't understand this difficult rule. You must explain it to them.- Ils ne comprennent pas cette règle difficile. Vous devez expliquer.
20. Can she ask him this question? No, she doesn't want to ask him.- Elle peut lui poser cette question? Non, elle ne veut pas poser. (poser - ask a question)
21. Can you ask us this question? Yes, we're going to ask you one.- Vous pouvez nous poser cette question? Oui, on va poser. (la question - question)
22. I want to write an email to my friends. Write it to them as soon as possible!- Je veux écrire un mail à mes amis. Ecris- le plus vite possible.
23. Can we ask him for advice? Of course. Ask him for it.- Nous pouvons demander son conseil? Bien sûr, demandez- .
24. I don’t want to explain it to him. Don't explain it to him if you don't want to.- Je ne veux pas le lui expliquer? Ne expliquez pas si vous ne voulez pas. (si - if)
25. Will you tell me your life story? No, I won't tell you.- Vous me raconterez votre histoire de la vie? Non, je ne raconterai pas.
26. Will you pay us this amount? Yes, we will pay you.- Vous nous paierez cette somme? Oui, nous paierons. (la somme - amount)
27. We must return these documents to them on time. Have you returned them to them yet?- Nous devons leur rendre ces documents à l "heure. Et vous, vous ne avez pas encore rendus?
28. They didn't tell us the whole truth. They hid her from us.- Ils ne nous ont pas dit toute la vérité. Ils "ont cachée.
29. Give me your picture. Sorry, but I won't give it to you.- Donnez-moi votre photo. Excusez-moi, mais je ne donnerai pas.
30. Did he forget to give you an example? Yes, he didn't give it to us.- Est-ce qu "il a oublié de vous donner un exemple. Oui, il ne "a pas donné.

Check Clear

Exercise number 2

Enter the translation of a word or phrase

1. Elle a fait un cadeau a son ? Je suis sûre q "elle le lui a fait.
2. J "ai envoyé une à ma- ... Je la lui ai envoyée.
3. Vous nous apporterez des au bureau? Nous vous les apporterons chez vous.
4. Ta fille te pose de questions? Elle me les pose toujours.
5. Je te raconterai cette histoire ... Je te la raconterai .
6. Quand vous leur enverrez le ? Nous le leur enverrons .
7. Vous avez dit la vérité ? Non, mais je vais la leur dire.
8. Ne nous le dites !
9. Elle a raconté l "histoire de sa vie aux enfants? Elle la leur a dite déjà.
10. Le professeur traduit le à ses étudiants? Il ne le leur traduit pas. Ils le font .
11. Les enfants vous dessinent les ? Ils nous les dessinent .
12. Vous achetez des aux enfants? Oui, je viens de les leur acheter.
13. Elle fait des aux ? Elle les leur fait .
14. Vous avez annoncé cette aux amis? Nous la leur avons annoncée.
15. Vous apportez des à votre femme? Je les lui apporte .
16. tu ne me rends pas mon ? Je te le rendrai plus tard.
17. Elle lui a montré sa photo? Non, mais elle va la lui montrer
18. Tu as déjà acheté des ? que ma maman me les achetera .
19. Ils ne comprennent pas cette règle ... Vous devez la leur .
20. Elle peut lui cette question? Non, elle ne veut pas la lui .
21. Vous pouvez nous poser cette ? Oui, on va vous la poser.
22. Je veux écrire un à mes amis. Ecris le-leur le plus vite possible.
23. Nous pouvons demander son ? , demandez-le-lui.
24. Je ne veux pas le lui expliquer? Ne le lui expliquez pas vous ne voulez pas.
25. Vous me raconterez histoire de la ? Non, je ne vous la raconterai pas.
26. Vous nous paierez cette ? Oui, nous vous la paierons.
27. Nous devons leur rendre à l "heure. Et vous, vous ne les leur avez rendus?
28. Ils ne nous ont pas dit ... Ils nous l "ont cachée.
29. Donnez-moi votre photo. , je ne vous la donnerai pas.
30. "il a oublié de vous donner un ... Oui, il ne nous l "a pas donné.

Check Clear

Exercise number 3

Translate from Russian to French

1. Did she give her husband a present? I'm sure she made it to him. (le mari - husband)
2. I sent a letter to my grandmother. I sent it to her. (la grand-mère - grandmother, une lettre - letter)
3. Will you bring us newspapers to the office? We will bring them home to you. (des journaux - newspapers)
4. Does your daughter ask you a lot of questions? She asks me them all the time. (beaucoup de - a lot)
5. I'll tell you this story later. I'll tell you about it later. (plus tard - later)
6. When will you send the package to them? We will send it to them the day after tomorrow. (après-demain - the day after tomorrow, le colis - the package)
7. Have you already told your parents the truth? No, but I'm going to tell them. (déjà - already, aux parents - to parents)
8. Do not tell us that ever! (jamais - never)
9. Did she tell her life story to the kids? She told them it a long time ago. (il y a longtemps - long time ago)
10. Does the teacher translate the text to his students? He doesn't translate it for them. They do it themselves. (le texte - text, eux-mêmes - themselves)
11. Children draw pictures for you? They draw them to us from time to time. (les images - pictures, de temps en temps - from time to time)
12. Do you buy toys for children? Yes, I just bought them for them. (des jouets - toys)
13. Does she comment on colleagues? She does them for them all the time. (des remarques - remarks, tout le temps - constantly, les collègues - colleagues)
14. Have you announced this news to your friends? We announced it to them. (la nouvelle - news)
15. Do you bring flowers to your wife? I bring them to her sometimes. (des fleurs - flowers, parfois - sometimes)
16. Why don't you return my book to me? I'll give it back to you later. (pourquoi - why, le livre - book)
17. Did she show him her best photo? No, but she's going to show it to him. (meilleure is the best)
18. Have you bought your textbooks yet? I hope that my mother will buy them for me herself. (des manuels - tutorials, j "espère - I hope elle-même is herself)
19. They don't understand this difficult rule. You must explain it to them. (difficile - difficult, expliquer - to explain)
20. Can she ask him this question? No, she doesn't want to ask him. (poser - ask a question)
21. Can you ask us this question? Yes, we're going to ask you one. (la question - question)
22. I want to write an email to my friends. Write it to them as soon as possible! (un mail - email)
23. Can we ask him for advice? Of course. Ask him for it. (bien sûr - of course, le conseil - advice)
24. I don’t want to explain it to him. Don't explain it to him if you don't want to. (si - if)
25. Will you tell me your life story? No, I won't tell you. (la vie is life, votre is yours, yours)
26. Will you pay us this amount? Yes, we will pay you. (la somme - amount)
27. We must return these documents to them on time. Have you returned them to them yet? (ces documents - these documents, pas encore - not yet ...)
28. They didn't tell us the whole truth. They hid her from us. (toute la vérité - the whole truth)
29. Give me your picture. Sorry, but I won't give it to you. (excusez-moi - sorry, mais - but)
30. Did he forget to give you an example? Yes, he didn't give it to us. (l "exemple is an example, est-ce que is not)