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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La — Feminine Singular

La is used before feminine singular nouns that begin with a consonant.

Examples:

• la fille (the girl)
• la maison (the house)
• la voiture (the car)
• la table (the table)
• la musique (the music)
• la vie (the life)
• la question (the question)
• la France (France)

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L' — Before Vowels and Silent H (Elision)

When a singular noun (masculine or feminine) begins with a vowel or a silent h (h muet), the le or la becomes l'. This process is called elision — the vowel of the article is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe.

Masculine examples:

• l'ami (the friend, m.)
• l'arbre (the tree)
• l'hôpital (the hospital)
• l'homme (the man)
• l'avion (the aeroplane)

Feminine examples:

• l'amie (the friend, f.)
• l'école (the school)
• l'eau (the water)
• l'histoire (the story/history)
• l'idée (the idea)

Important: When l' is used, you cannot tell from the article alone whether the noun is masculine or feminine. You must know the gender of the noun: l'ami is masculine, l'amie is feminine.

H aspiré — No Elision

Remember from the pronunciation lessons that some French words beginning with h have an h aspiré (aspirate h). Despite being silent, these words behave as if they start with a consonant — no elision occurs.

• le héros (the hero) — NOT l'héros
• la honte (the shame) — NOT l'honte
• le hasard (chance/luck) — NOT l'hasard
• le haricot (the bean) — NOT l'haricot

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Les — Plural

Les is used before all plural nouns, regardless of gender.

Examples:

• les garçons (the boys)
• les filles (the girls)
• les livres (the books)
• les maisons (the houses)
• les amis (the friends, m.)
• les amies (the friends, f.)
• les enfants (the children)

Pronunciation: Les is pronounced "lay." Before a vowel, liaison occurs: les amis = "lay-zah-MEE," les enfants = "lay-zahn-FAHN."

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Special Uses of the Definite Article in French

French uses the definite article in several situations where English does not use "the."

1. General Statements and Abstract Concepts

When speaking about something in general or about an abstract concept, French requires the definite article.