French Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-13-2023

Keep this Cheat Sheet handy as you're learning French. It's a great quick reference when you need to check definite, indefinite, and partitive articles; personal pronouns, identify être verbs, and need help with other particulars of French grammar.

Article / Updated 08-07-2023

What better way to enjoy what you are going to eat than to start with an empty stomach. Then you can say, "J'ai faim" (zheh fan) (I'm hungry) or "J'ai soif" (zheh swaf) (I'm thirsty), and the glorious world of French gastronomy is yours! French food is probably the most famous and the most praised in the world. And you don't have to go to Paris to enjoy it. In the United States, French restaurants and specialty food shops are often very expensive. But just across the border, you can find total satisfaction at reasonable prices in Montreal. In the United States, people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wouldn't it be simple if only three words designated les repas (lay ruh-pah) (the meals) in all French-speaking countries? Well, it simply isn't so. Québec has kept some of the seventeenth-century French of its first settlers and uses the words that were used then (as do the people in some parts of the French countryside): The word for "breakfast" is: le déjeuner (luh day-zhuh-nay) in Québec le petit déjeuner (luh puh-tee day-zhuh-nay) in France Le déjeuner (in Québec) is probably a remnant from the days when farm workers ate a big hearty meal in early morning, another big meal at midday, and only hot soup with bread at the end of the day. Then breakfast was more a déjeuner (meal) than a petit déjeuner (little meal). Also, the Quebecois are North Americans and thus more used to a big breakfast than the French are. So, if you're meeting someone for le déjeuner in Montreal, don't wait until lunch time! Unless your hosts invited your for le brunch — no explanation necessary, right? — they won't be expecting you. The word for "lunch" is: le dîner (luh dee-nay) in Québec le déjeuner (luh day-zhuh-nay) in France The word for "dinner" is: le souper (luh soo-pay) in Québec le dîner (luh dee-nay) in France These nouns are also verbs; to have lunch or dinner is déjeuner, dîner, or souper. After coming home from school, children enjoy le goûter (luh goo-tay) (mid-afternoon snack), which usually consists of bread and butter, jam, or chocolate. If you suddenly find yourself hungry between meals, you can always have un casse-croûte (kahs-kroot) (a snack, literally: break the crust) like a crêpe at a stand in Paris, a hot dog sold by a street vendor in Montreal, or anything in between. Even out in the middle of the country, you may be lucky enough to find a café where you can get une omelette (ew-nom-leht) (an omelet) or un sandwich (aN sahn-dweesh) (a sandwich). A note about breakfast As we mention earlier, a Canadian breakfast looks much like its American or British counterpart. The French breakfast, on the other hand, is more like what hotels call a continental breakfast. Many French don't even eat the famous croissant (krwa-sahN) with their morning coffee; they're often satisfied with just a quick espresso before boarding the train or the subway. Nowadays, like North American children, many French children have cereal and milk, les céréales et le lait (lay say-ray-ah-lay luh lay) for breakfast. Still, the traditional French breakfast is usually made up of the following: le café (luh kah-fay) (coffee) le café au lait (luh kah-fay o leh) (coffee with hot milk) le café crème (luh kah-fay crehm) (coffee with a little milk) le thé nature (luh tay nah-tewr) (plain tea) le thé au lait (luh tay o leh) (tea with milk) le thé au citron/le thé citron (luh tay o see-trohn/luh tay see-trohn) (tea with lemon) le pain (luh pahN) (bread) le pain grillé (luh pahN gree-yay) (toast) les tartines (lay tahr-teen) (slices of bread with some kind of spread) le beurre (luh buhr) (butter) la margarine (lah mahr-zhah-reen) (margarine), not as popular as butter but used nevertheless la confiture (lah kohn-fee-tewr) (jam) le croissant (luh krwa-sahN) (croissant — crescent-shaped) le pain au chocolat (luh pan o sho-ko-lah) (same dough as a croissant, but a different shape and with a chocolate bar inside) le chausson aux pommes (luh sho-sohN o pohm) (applesauce-filled danish) le pain aux raisins (luh pahN o ray-zan) (a sort of raisin bread) You can find all of these mouth-watering goodies in any pâtisserie (pah-tees-ree) (confectioner's shop) or boulangerie (boo-lahn-zhree) (bakery) throughout France. If you aren't sure what something is, you can always simply point to it in the window and be delightfully surprised at whatever delicious confection you discover! A note about lunch Until the mid-1960s, lunch was the big meal of the day in France. Fathers came home from work and children came home from school to sit to a four- or five-course meal prepared by the mother. After a two-hour break, everybody went back to their activities. Children still have a two-hour break from lunch, and many of them still go home. But with many women working outside the house, most active people spend much less time on their lunch break and don't have time to come home. They also eat more lightly at midday.

Article / Updated 09-29-2022

The French indefinite article is the equivalent to a/an and some (but English often skips it). Do you ask about one thing, describe a couple of things that happened, and make plans for an outing that hasn’t yet been defined? If so, you’re an indefinite article kind of person, like the French! And as such, you should treat the article indéfini as the default article in French grammar. 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 (a house) des Before masculine or feminine plural nouns some des enfants (some children) de, or d’ before nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute -h Instead of any indefinite article, after a negative verb no or not any pas d’ordinateur (no computer) Use the indefinite article when you talk about one or several individual things that you can count, as opposed to an entire category of things. Il y a un livre sur la table. (There is a book on the table.) Tu as mangé une banane. (You ate a/one banana.) Il a vu des lions au zoo. (He saw (some) lions at the zoo.) You 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). In a sentence with a negative verb, un, une, and des are replaced by de, even if the noun it introduces is plural. Here are some examples. Il n’y a pas de souris dans notre garage. (There is not a mouse in our garage.) Elle ne veut pas d’enfants. (She doesn’t want any children.) This rule has one exception. Don’t use de when the negative verb is être (to be). Just use the indefinite article as if the sentence was affirmative. Here are some examples: Cet animal n’est pas un chien. C’est un renard. (This animal is not a dog. It’s a fox.) — C’est une voiture rouge, n’est-ce pas? — Non ce n’est pas une voiture rouge! C’est une voiture noire. (— It’s a red car, right? — No, it’s not a red car! It’s a black car.) Choose between the definite article (le, la, l’, les) and the indefinite article (un, une, des, and de) to complete the sentences. Check a French-English dictionary if you need help with the vocabulary.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-18-2022

If you’re ready to move beyond the basics in French and want to improve your skills at reading, writing, or speaking in French, start by reviewing the three types of French articles, the French contractions formed with à and de, and French personal pronouns. Learning the correct object pronoun word order and identifying verbs that use être as their auxiliary verb will boost your confidence when speaking French.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-22-2022

Like any new language, learning French can be a challenge. You have to interpret unfamiliar sounds, decipher idioms, conjugate verbs in multiple tenses, dot your is, cross your ts, and link your œs. Nouns have both number and gender, and adjectives and articles have to agree with them. Here are a few French fundamentals to give your speaking, listening, reading, and writing a boost.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-15-2022

If you’re studying French, you need to get a handle on French verbs. Luckily, there’s a pattern to conjugating regular French verbs into the simple and compound tenses, so once you know how to conjugate one, you know hundreds! Learn how to give commands, directions, or requests by studying the imperative conjugations of French verbs. You can also check out these five frequently mixed-up verbs.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-19-2022

Whether you’re planning a trip to France or to a French-speaking country or you just want to learn a little French, knowing a few helpful expressions can make you feel more comfortable with the language. In this handy Cheat Sheet, you'll find basic French expressions, questions for gathering information or asking for help, and phrases to use in a restaurant. You'll also find the dates and numbers in French.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-19-2022

French grammar is all about using French words in the correct way so people can understand your meaning. You can learn a lot of French words by browsing an English-French dictionary, but to make sense, you need to know the rules of French grammar. Some of the basics include making nouns plural, adding description by pairing adjectives correctly to nouns, and using pronominal verbs to talk about actions done to you or someone else.

Article / Updated 10-28-2021

As you discuss days, months, and specific dates in French, you’re going to need tell time (l’heure) and probably with both the 12-hour and 24-hour clocks. How to express French time via the 12-hour clock Time is typically expressed based on a 12-hour clock. In French, you say the hour then the minutes, and it’s a little different from the way it’s done in English. To tell a time on the hour in French, use il est + (number) + heure(s). For example: il est deux heures (it is two o’clock). Note: When it is one o’clock, say: il est une heure (it is one o’clock), using the feminine singular une instead of un because the word heure (hour) is feminine. Always say the word heure(s) when telling time. Even if familiar language often skips il est, it never skips heure(s). For example: quelle heure est-il? (what time is it?) Huit heures (eight o’clock). French minutes have a few twists and turns that you may not expect. Check these out: To say 1 to 30 minutes past the hour, simply say the number of minutes after the hour, like this: Il est deux heures dix. (Literally, it is two hours ten, which is to say, it is 2:10.) Il est sept heures vingt-cinq. (It is 7:25.) For 15 minutes past the hour say, et quart (and a quarter). For example: Il est une heure et quart. (It’s a quarter past one.) For 30 minutes past the hour, say et demie (and a half). For example: Il est une heure et demie. (It’s half past one.) For 31 to 59 minutes past the hour, say the next hour moins (minus) the number of minutes, like this: Il est quatre heures moins dix. (Literally, four hours minus 10, or 3:50.) Il est huit heures moins vingt. (Literally, eight hours minus 20, meaning 7:40.) For a quarter until the hour, say moins le quart (minus the quarter). For example: Il est trois heures moins le quart. (It is a quarter until 3; meaning 2:45.) To abbreviate a time in French, don’t use a colon between the hour and minutes like in English. Instead, use the letter h (for heure), like this: 8h10 (8:10). French has specific words for noon and midnight: midi (noon) and minuit (midnight). Those two words are used without saying heures. For example: Il est minuit. Tout le monde au lit! (It’s midnight. Everybody to bed!) With the 12-hour clock, you may need to clarify whether it’s 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. It could make a big difference! French uses phrases to express the difference between morning (le matin), afternoon (l’après-midi), and evening/night (le soir). du matin (in the morning or a.m.) For example: Il part à six heures et demie du matin. (He leaves at 6:30 a.m.) de l’après-midi (in the afternoon or p.m.) For example: En hiver il fait nuit à cinq heures de l’après-midi. (In the winter, it’s dark at 5 p.m.) du soir (in the evening/at night or p.m.) For example: Ils dînent à sept heures du soir. (They eat dinner at 7 p.m.) The line between afternoon and evening is not a very fixed one. It varies with the perception of the speaker, the seasons, even the weather. Here are a few expressions that can come in handy when telling time in French. pile (on the dot). For example: Il mange à midi pile. (He eats at noon on the dot.) à (at). For example: Viens à trois heures. (Come at 3.) C’est à quelle heure? (At what time is it?) vers (around). For example: Je passerai vers 9 heures. (I will stop by around 9.) How to express French time via the 24-hour clock If you travel in France, you really may need this information! Using the 24-hour clock is really quite simple, because all you do is add. No more moins le quart or et demie and the like. All you need is to keep in mind that the 24-hour clock begins at zéro heure (12 a.m.) and ends at 23.59 (11:59 p.m.), and you write a period between the two parts of the time instead of using an h. For example, 13.00 (treize heures) is 1 p.m., 14.00 (quatorze heures) is 2 p.m., 15.00 (quinze heures) is 3 p.m., and so on. And because it’s clear that all times after 12 (noon) are p.m., you have no need for du matin, de l’après-midi, or du soir anymore. Here are some examples: Le film commence à 20.40 (vingt heures quarante). (The movie begins at 8:40 p.m.) Le bureau est ouvert de 8.00 (huit heures) à 17.30 (dix-sept heures trente). (The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) Le déjeuner est servi à 12.15 (douze heures quinze) et le diner à 19.45 (dix-neuf-­heures quarante-cinq). (Lunch is served at 12:15, and dinner at 7:45.)

Article / Updated 09-14-2021

To simplify things, French has classified regular verbs into three types, based on the ending of their infinitives. Think of all the things you can possibly do in one day. That’s also a lot of French verbs to conjugate. The largest group is the verbs with infinitives that end in -er (the -er verbs), like parler (to speak). The second largest group is made up of the verbs with infinitives that end in -ir (the -ir verbs), like finir (to finish). The third group consists of the -re ending verbs (the -re verbs), like vendre (to sell). Each type follows a pattern of conjugation for every tense. Think of the infinitive as the family name of a verb: A family shares a common last name, but each individual has their own characteristics, right? Use the infinitive to recognize the verb type (-er, -ir, or -re) that allows you to find its conjugation pattern and also look up the verb in the dictionary. How to conjugate a regular -er verb More than 80 percent of French verbs are -er verbs. It’s great for you, because after you know this group's pattern of conjugation in the present tense, you can pretty much conjugate 80 percent of French verbs. Doesn’t that sound great? To conjugate a regular -er verb, drop the -er of the infinitive to get the stem. Then add the six present tense endings specific to -er verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent, and you’re done. Easy! The following table conjugates a regular -er verb: aimer (to like). j’aime nous aimons tu aimes vous aimez il/elle/on aime ils/elles aiment Aller (to go) is a very common verb, and it looks like a regular -er verb. However, it is not. Aller is a very irregular verb. How to conjugate a regular -ir verb The -ir verb group is the second most common verb type. To form the present tense of a regular -ir verb, drop the -ir of the infinitive to get the stem for the present tense conjugation. Then add the present tense endings specific to -ir verbs: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. The following table conjugates a regular -ir verb: finir (to finish). je finis nous finissons tu finis vous finissez il/elle/on finit ils/elles finissent Not all -ir verbs follow this pattern. So just use a little more caution when dealing with -ir ending verbs. How to conjugate a regular -re verb Verbs that end in -re are the third conjugation type. To form the present tense of an -re verb, drop the -re of the infinitive, like you do for -er and -ir verbs. When you do that, you’re left with the stem for the conjugation of the present tense, and you can add the present tense endings specific to -re verbs: -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent. The following table conjugates a regular -re verb: vendre (to sell). je vends nous vendons tu vends vous vendez il/elle/on vend ils/elles vendent