Definite Articles (le, la, l', les)

Articles are small words that appear before nouns. In French, the definite article (equivalent to English "the") has four forms depending on the gender, number, and initial sound of the noun it accompanies. Understanding these articles is fundamental to constructing correct French sentences.

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The Four Forms

Form	Used With	Example
le	Masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant	le livre (the book)
la	Feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant	la table (the table)
l'	Any singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h	l'ami (the friend), l'école (the school), l'homme (the man)
les	All plural nouns (masculine and feminine)	les livres (the books), les tables (the tables)

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Le — Masculine Singular

Le is used before masculine singular nouns that begin with a consonant.

Examples:

• le garçon (the boy)
• le chat (the cat)
• le livre (the book)
• le soleil (the sun)
• le fromage (the cheese)
• le matin (the morning)
• le restaurant (the restaurant)
• le problème (the problem)

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