2.2 Nouns And Articles – Introduction To French

Important Note

In the examples above, note that le and la both become l’ when they come before a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h: l’homme, l’université. This is called élision.

When les is followed by a word starting with a vowel, the normally silent final s of les is pronounced, making a /z/ sound. This additional sound linking two words is called liaison.

Exercice 1 : Definite Articles

Based on the definite article that appears in front of each noun below, indicate whether the noun is masculine or feminine, or whether you don’t know.

1. la chaise
2. le professeur
3. l’étudiant
4. le sac à dos
5. les bureaux
6. les amies
7. les devoirs
8. l’affiche
9. la craie
10. le stylo

Plural  Formation

As in English, the plural is generally formed by adding an s to the end of the singular form of the noun. Note, however, that the s is not pronounced. In spoken language, the article is often the only indication that a noun is singular or plural.

Important Notes

Generally, to form plurals, you can follow these rules:

• Add an s to the end of the word. Example: la chaise/les chaises (the chair/the chairs)
• Nouns ending in s, x, or z do not change in the plural. Example: la souris/les souris (the mouse/the mice)
• Nouns ending in al, ail, or au in the singular end in aux in the plural. Example: l’animal/les animaux (the animal/the animals)
• Nouns ending in eu, eau or ou in the singular add x in the plural. Example: le bijou/les bijoux (the jewel/the jewels)

Keep in mind that there are exceptions and that not all nouns follow the rules above.

Exercice  2 : Nouns and Definite Articles

Rewrite the following nouns using its proper definite article based on the noun’s gender and number. Note that the gender is specified in the brackets with an (m) for masculine and an (f) for feminine. An asterisk (*) indicates the plural form of the noun.

Modèle: stylo (m) / le stylo.

1. affiche (f)
2. bureau (m)
3. étudiante (f)
4. stylo (m)
5. professeurs* (m)
6. devoirs* (m)
7. craie (f)
8. chaise (f)
9. sacs à dos* (m)
10. étudiants* (m)

Indefinite Articles

The second type of articles in French are indefinite articles. These correspond to the English a (an) (singular) and some (plural). Just like the definite article, the indefinite article has different forms for masculine, feminine, and plural.

Indefinite Articles

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un	des
Feminine	une	des

Don’t forget that to write the plural form of most singular nouns, you add an s to the end of the word.

Plurals

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	un livre	des livres
Feminine	une craie	des craies

Exercice 3 : Indefinite Articles

Rewrite each definite article-noun pairing below using the correct indefinite article.

Modèle: la table / une table

1. livre (m)
2. fenêtre (f)
3. affiche (f)
4. devoirs (m)
5. stylo (m)
6. cahier (m)
7. étudiante (f)
8. étudiant (m)
9. crayon (m)

This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA, and Tex’s French Grammar, originally released under CC BY 3.0.