Partitive ArticleThe partitive is usually used when discussing eating or drinking because one normally only eats some butter, cheese, etc., not all of it. The pronunciation will slightly change if the noun starts with a consonant or a vowel, as well is the noun starts with a H muet or a H aspir. A few examples when the noun starts with a consonant: A few examples when the noun starts with a H aspir (acting as a consonant): Because H acts as a consonant, we don't add a LIAISON between the article and the noun. Some food items are usually referred to as singular in English, although they are really plural. (He saw (some) lions at the zoo.)\r\nYou also can use the indefinite articles un and une before an expression of quantity, like une tranche de (a slice of), un morceau de (a piece of), and un peu de (a little bit of).\r\n\r\nIn a sentence with a negative verb, un, une, and des are replaced by de, even if the noun it introduces is plural. "An Introduction to French Articles." (some of it, not the whole cake), Jai des Euros. If you have more than one, then youd use numbers : 2, 3, 10 with numbers, you dont use any articles. This will help you learn the gender of each noun along with the word itself, which is important because the articles (as well as adjectives, pronouns, and just about everything else) change to agree with the gender of the noun. Of course, quantity are going to be very common with food items. An Introduction to French Articles. In my beginner and intermediate level French audio books, many chapters talk about food, or take place in a restaurant, and youll find these articles used in context in each chapters. As a general rule, if you have a noun in French, there is virtually always an article in front of it, unless you use some other type of determiner such as a possessive adjective (mon, ton, etc.) And as such, you should treat the article indfini as the default article in French grammar.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

French Indefinite Articles

French Article	Usage in French	English Equivalent	Example
un	Before masculine singular nouns	a/an	un chat (a cat)
une	Before feminine singular nouns	a/an	une maison \r\n(a house)
des	Before masculine or feminine plural nouns	some	des enfants (some children)
de, or d before nouns beginning with a\r\nvowel or a mute -h	Instead of any indefinite article, after a negative verb	no or not any	pas dordinateur \r\n(no computer)

\r\nUse the indefinite article when you talk about one or several individual things that you can count, as opposed to an entire category of things.\r\n

Il y a un livre sur la table. (There is a book on the table.)

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Tu as mang une banane. Its a fox.)

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Cest une voiture rouge, nest-ce pas? A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. Like rice.There are many grains of rice, but its rare that you are counting them one by oneSo rice is considered as a single ingredient, singular masculine le riz.If you need to count each grain, then youd use the expression grain de riz Il y a 3 grains de riz sur la table. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

In French, you would never say il est rentr chez lui avec de la filleHe didnt go home with an unspecified quantity of a girl!! Cest un renard. Like said at the beginning, UN is always used for masculine nouns. Team, ThoughtCo. So you need to ask yourself Am I talking about: Now lets check your understanding of this lesson. When you are talking about a portion of an item (food), or something that cannot be quantified (e.g. In English, wed probably wont use an article there. Its not just slang. So be careful, translation doesnt always work. There are three forms of the French indefinite article. Please react!

The singular indefinite articles in French correspond to "a," "an," or "one" in English, while the plural corresponds to "some." 10 Common Mistakes People Make While Learning French, When Nouns Are Plural in French But Singular in English, And Vice Versa, The French Indefinite Articles: Un - Une - Des, To know when to use them properly, you need to know if the following noun is feminine or masculine. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! In French, you need to accompany your word with something. Dont use de when the negative verb is tre (to be). a very specific quantity (a number, or an expression of quantity : une pomme, 5 pommes, un kilo de pommes, une bouteille de vin). There are four forms of the French definite article: Which definite article to use depends on three things: the noun's gender, number, and first letter: The definite article indicates a specific noun. Answers : 1- de, 2- de, 3- une, 4- un, 5- du, 6- unede, 7- de, 8- de l, 9- du, 10- des, 11- une/de la. Team, ThoughtCo. You buy either one kilo of rice (a kilo of, an expression of quantity), or some rice (unspecified quantity of an item which is not easily quantifiable). Whether it's to pass that big test, qualify for that big promotion or even master that cooking technique; people who rely on dummies, rely on it to learn the critical skills and relevant information necessary for success. But, more often, youd say something like Jachte du riz ( I buy some rice, or I buy rice). ThoughtCo. Most of my audiobooks are recorded at several speeds to help you conquer the modern French language. DES is only for plural nouns, it doesn't matter if it's a feminine noun or a masculine noun. No, its not a red car! French articles are sometimes confusing for language students because they have to agree with the nouns they modify and because they don't always correspond to articles in other languages. Often, we use nothing at all. Sign Up For A FREE Trial French Lesson On Skype And Get Instant Access To My French Pronunciation Crash Course. Following the same logic, PAS is a specified quantity ; none.

Born and raised in Paris, I have been teaching today's French to adults for 23+ years in the US and France. (This animal is not a dog. (an apple, one apple), Je cherche un beau livre. the indefinite article (un, une, des, negative pas de). Here are some examples. The indefinite articles are un (masculine singular), une (feminine singular), and des (masculine, feminine plural). Dummies has always stood for taking on complex concepts and making them easy to understand. ( Its a red car, right? She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.

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\r\nChoose between the definite article (le, la, l, les) and the indefinite article (un, une, des, and de) to complete the sentences. (2021, December 6). Want to keep up to date with the new content? The definite article changes when preceded by the prepositionorde the preposition and article contract into a single word. In French, you need to use des), Elle a des amies formidables (she has (some) great friends), Donne-moi une pomme. You usually buy, eat, need one, 2, 3 applesBut you may decide to be vague, and say des pommes = more than one, but I dont know exactly how many. The indefinite article can also refer to just one of something: The plural indefinite article means "some": When referring to a person's profession or religion, the indefinite is not used in French, although it is used in English. Even if its not an article per se, I think it should be studied in this lesson since this is really the key to understanding it all. There are four forms of the French partitive article: The form of the partitive article to use depends on three things: the noun's number, gender, and first letter: The partitive article indicates an unknown quantity of something, usually food or drink. Here are some examples:

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Cet animal nest pas un chien. Dont use de when the negative verb is tre (to be). https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-french-articles-1368810 (accessed July 21, 2022). Just use the indefinite article as if the sentence was affirmative. and the partitive article (du, de la, de l, des, negative pas de). And these are followed by the preposition de or d (+ vowel or h), meaning of, exactly like in English. These article are always required whereas they can be omitted in English. Which means that you have to master them. /I didn't eat any soup. ____ maison rose.4- Je voudrais ____ gteau sil vous plat (a whole one)5- Je voudrais ____ gteau sil vous plat (a portion of it)6_ je voudrais ____ part ____ gteau sil vous plat (a slice of cake).7- Non merci, je ne veux pas____ gteau.8- Je voudrais ____ eau, sil vous plat.9- Tu as ____ courage.10- Achte ____ oranges !11- Voici ____ glace la vanille. More Articles from Camille Chevalier-Karfis, I publish posts every week. I have an apple. / I don't have any apples. Check out my article to figure out why French uses la and de there. {"appState":{"pageLoadApiCallsStatus":true},"articleState":{"article":{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T15:00:50+00:00","modifiedTime":"2020-01-13T17:53:25+00:00","timestamp":"2022-06-22T19:35:44+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33662"},"slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Language & Language Arts","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33687"},"slug":"language-language-arts","categoryId":33687},{"name":"Learning Languages","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33689"},"slug":"learning-languages","categoryId":33689},{"name":"French","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33695"},"slug":"french","categoryId":33695}],"title":"French Indefinite Articles","strippedTitle":"french indefinite articles","slug":"french-indefinite-articles","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"The French indefinite article is the equivalent to a/an and some (but English often skips it). Quelques morceaux de lards (a few pieces of bacon). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-french-articles-1368810. (I dont have any friends), Elle a beaucoup de patience BUT Elle na pas de patience. Leave a comment, make a suggestion, share this article Your engagement really encourages me to create more free French lessons! To describe an unspecified plural quantity, use des (both feminine and masculine). What about une glace la fraise et uneconfiture de fraises ? (Except after the verb tre when the article doesnt change). Here are some examples: Vronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. Non ce nest pas une voiture rouge! Tip: When learning new vocabulary, make your vocabulary lists with a definite or indefinite article for each noun. So, lets do some exercises to test your understanding: complete using un, une, des, du, de la, de l, de or d.

She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.

(patience ; you are not saying how much patience the teacher has, just that he/she has some), Voici du gteau. (more than one, but I am not telling exactly how many), Je vais acheter des pommes. Good thing is that they are not very hard to use and follow a few regular and easy rules of French grammar. The definite article is also used in French to indicate the general sense of a noun. She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.

","authors":[{"authorId":9721,"name":"Veronique Mazet","slug":"veronique-mazet","description":"

Véronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. Here are some examples:

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Cet animal nest pas un chien. If it's singular starting with a vowel or, If it's a singular noun and starts with a. I ate some soup. Meaning and Usage of the French Definite Article, Meaning and Usage of the French Indefinite Article, Meaning and Usage of the French Partitive Article. A, AN or ONE, SOME, ANY To translate this notion, the French use a combination of 2 articles ; The key to understanding them relies on understanding that it is all a question of specification of quantity. Its a fox.)

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Cest une voiture rouge, nest-ce pas? This is usually the part that confuses students. The partitive indicates that the quantity is unknown or uncountable. ), One North College StNorthfield, MN 55057USA, French and Francophone Studies pages maintained by. an unspecified quantity of an item (du vin), or an unspecified quantity of something that is not easily quantifiable (du riz, de la patience), more than one of an item, but a vague plural quantity (des pommes). The pronunciation will slightly change if the noun starts with a, In this case, you can add a LIAISON between the article and the noun with a, DES is only for plural nouns, it doesn't matter if it's a feminine noun or a masculine noun. Check a French-English dictionary if you need help with the vocabulary. Je voudrais de leau, sil vous plait. Its a black car.)

\r\nChoose between the definite article (le, la, l, les) and the indefinite article (un, une, des, and de) to complete the sentences. (some water, maybe a glass, or maybe a bottle), Le professeur a de la patience. It can almost be guaranteed that if what you want to say requires "a," "an," or "one" in English unless you're talking about someone's profession you need the indefinite article. qualities, like patience), use a partitive article: TheFrench partitive articlesexpress a notion of quantity: a vague one, a non-specific one. A few examples when the noun starts with a consonant or a H aspir: And finally, a few examples when the noun starts with a vowel or a H muet: Just like with UN, you can add a LIAISON between the article and the noun with a Z sound. DES + plural noun, masculine or feminine Some. In a sentence with a negative verb, un, une, and des are replaced by de, even if the noun it introduces is plural.