{"id":77,"date":"2024-02-21T17:22:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T22:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=77"},"modified":"2024-02-21T17:23:21","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T22:23:21","slug":"1-14-structure-determinants-articles-definis-et-indefinis","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/chapter\/1-14-structure-determinants-articles-definis-et-indefinis\/","title":{"raw":"1.14: Structure - D\u00e9terminants - articles d\u00e9finis et ind\u00e9finis","rendered":"1.14: Structure &#8211; D\u00e9terminants &#8211; articles d\u00e9finis et ind\u00e9finis"},"content":{"raw":"<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">In this section, you will learn about:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Definite articles (<strong>le, la, l', les<\/strong>)<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Indefinite articles (<strong>un, une, des<\/strong>)<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Gender and number agreement<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<section class=\"box-note\">\r\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 class=\"box-legend editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Media Alternative<\/span><\/h2>\r\nListen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<div id=\"section_1\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 class=\"editable\">On \u00e9tudie !<\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(a) The most common type of adjective used is the<strong> determiner,<\/strong> also known as an <strong>article<\/strong>. An article, such as \"the\" or \"a\", introduces a noun and it must be placed before the noun. Like any adjective, it must also agree with the gender of the noun(s) that it modifies. There are two types of articles: \"definite articles\" (<strong>articles d\u00e9finis<\/strong>) and \"indefinite articles\" (<strong>articles ind\u00e9finis<\/strong>). Here are the singular forms with gender agreement:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\"><caption>Articles ind\u00e9finis<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel (a, an)<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>un <\/b>(a, an)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>des <\/b>(\u00d8, some)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>une <\/b>(a, an)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>des <\/b>(\u00d8, some)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<\/table>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\"><caption>Articles d\u00e9finis<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel (a, an)<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>le, l'<\/b> (the)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>les<\/b> (the)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>la, l'<\/b> (the)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>les<\/b> (the)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\"><caption>Singular articles with gender agreement<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">D\u00e9fini (the)<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>le<\/strong> livre\r\n(the book)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)\"><strong>un<\/strong> livre\r\n(a book)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>la<\/strong> page\r\n(the page)<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)\"><strong>une<\/strong> page\r\n(a page)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(b) The articles <strong>le<\/strong> and <strong>la<\/strong> become <strong>l'<\/strong> before words that begin with a vowel or a silent <strong>h<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><strong>l'\u00e9tudiant<\/strong>,<strong> l'avenue<\/strong>,<strong> l'\u00eele<\/strong>,<strong> l'universit\u00e9<\/strong>,<strong> l'h\u00f4pital<\/strong>,<strong> l'homme <\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">These are called <a title=\"3.21: Structure - \u00c9lisions\" href=\"https:\/\/human.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Languages\/French\/French_OER_1_(Carrasco_Zahedi_and_Parrish)\/03%3A_Unite_3_-_La_famille\/3.21%3A_Structure_-_Elisions\" rel=\"internal\">\u00e9lisions<\/a>. An elision is a type of contraction that occurs when two words are combined: one or more letters are dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. In English, elisions like \"I'm\" and \"can't\" are optional and indicate informality.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(c) When nouns are plural, the articles must also be plural in order to agree with them. Most plural nouns in French end in <strong>-s<\/strong>. There are also some irregular plurals such as<strong> -x<\/strong>: le chapeau =&gt; les chapeau<strong>x<\/strong>; beau =&gt; beau<strong>x<\/strong>. Here are the plural forms with number agreement:<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\"><caption>Plural articles with gender agreement<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">D\u00e9fini (the)<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>les<\/strong> livres<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)\"><strong>des<\/strong> livres<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>les<\/strong> pages<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)\"><strong>des<\/strong> pages<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<div class=\"box-note\">\r\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104337 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Note<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">In English, you usually don't use a plural indefinite article (like \"some\"). Instead we just say the plural noun without an article: thus, \"a shoe\" simply becomes \"shoes\".<\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Notice how the gender (masculine, feminine) distinction seems to have disappeared with these plural articles (<strong>les, des<\/strong>). However, the nouns have not lost their gender, and any other adjectives that are added to them must still agree with them in gender.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(d) Since each noun is either masculine or feminine (gender) and singular or plural (number), all adjectives used to describe \u2014 or modify how we understand \u2014 these nouns must agree with the gender and number of the nouns. For example:<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\r\n\r\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\"><caption>Articles with number agreement<\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\r\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>un<\/strong> chapeau noir<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>des<\/strong> chapeau<strong>x<\/strong> noir<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>une<\/strong> robe bleue<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>des<\/strong> robe<strong>s<\/strong> bleue<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>le<\/strong> chapeau blanc<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> chapeau<strong>x<\/strong> blanc<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>la<\/strong> chaussure rouge<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> chaussure<strong>s<\/strong> rouge<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>l'<\/strong>imperm\u00e9able jaune<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> imperm\u00e9able<strong>s<\/strong> jaune<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<div class=\"box-note\">\r\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104337 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Note<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">In spoken French, we don't hear the plural <strong>-s<\/strong> so we rely on other sounds to determine if it's plural or singular. For example, compare the pronunciation of the singular <strong>le<\/strong> to the plural <strong>les<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_2\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 class=\"editable\">On approfondit !<\/h2>\r\n<div class=\"box-definition\">\r\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104348 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Ressources\u00a0en ligne<\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"lt-human-104333\">Use the following resources\u00a0to\u00a0type accents and\/or search for words:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a class=\"link-https\" title=\"Accent website\" href=\"https:\/\/french.typeit.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener nofollow\">Accents<\/a>:\u00a0\u00e7,\u00a0\u00e0,\u00a0\u00e9,\u00a0\u00e8,\u00a0\u00e2,\u00a0\u00ea,\u00a0\u00ee,\u00a0\u00f4,\u00a0\u00fb,\u00a0\u00f9,\u00a0\u00eb,\u00a0\u00ef,\u00a0\u00fc<\/li>\r\n \t<li><a class=\"link-https\" title=\"French dictionary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wordreference.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener nofollow\">Dictionnaire<\/a>\u00a0fran\u00e7ais-anglais<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_3\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong>Exercice 1 : articles d\u00e9finis (singulier)<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5084\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_4\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a02\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>: articles d\u00e9finis (pluriel)<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5085\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_5\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a03\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>: articles ind\u00e9finis (singulier)<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5086\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_6\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a04 :<\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0articles ind\u00e9finis (pluriel)<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5087\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"section_7\" class=\"mt-section\">\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a05 : singulier vs pluriel<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/2150\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<footer class=\"mt-content-footer\">\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"autoattribution-divider\" \/>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"autoattribution\">\r\n\r\nThis page titled <a class=\"internal mt-self-link\" href=\"https:\/\/human.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Languages\/French\/French_OER_1_(Carrasco_Zahedi_and_Parrish)\/01%3A_Unite_1_-_Bonjour\/1.14%3A_Structure_-_Determinants_-_articles_definis_et_indefinis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"internal noopener\">1.14: Structure - D\u00e9terminants - articles d\u00e9finis et ind\u00e9finis<\/a> is shared under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CC BY-NC 4.0<\/a> license and was authored, remixed, and\/or curated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.palomar.edu\/pages\/worldlanguages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">William J. Carrasco, Shahrzad Zahedi, &amp; Caren Barnezet Parrish<\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/footer>","rendered":"<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">In this section, you will learn about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Definite articles (<strong>le, la, l&#8217;, les<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Indefinite articles (<strong>un, une, des<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Gender and number agreement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<section class=\"box-note\">\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"box-legend editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Media Alternative<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div id=\"section_1\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"editable\">On \u00e9tudie !<\/h2>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(a) The most common type of adjective used is the<strong> determiner,<\/strong> also known as an <strong>article<\/strong>. An article, such as &#8220;the&#8221; or &#8220;a&#8221;, introduces a noun and it must be placed before the noun. Like any adjective, it must also agree with the gender of the noun(s) that it modifies. There are two types of articles: &#8220;definite articles&#8221; (<strong>articles d\u00e9finis<\/strong>) and &#8220;indefinite articles&#8221; (<strong>articles ind\u00e9finis<\/strong>). Here are the singular forms with gender agreement:<\/p>\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\">\n<caption>Articles ind\u00e9finis<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel (a, an)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>un <\/b>(a, an)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>des <\/b>(\u00d8, some)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>une <\/b>(a, an)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>des <\/b>(\u00d8, some)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\">\n<caption>Articles d\u00e9finis<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel (a, an)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>le, l&#8217;<\/b> (the)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>les<\/b> (the)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><b>la, l&#8217;<\/b> (the)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel (a, an)\"><b>les<\/b> (the)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\">\n<caption>Singular articles with gender agreement<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">D\u00e9fini (the)<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>le<\/strong> livre<br \/>\n(the book)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)\"><strong>un<\/strong> livre<br \/>\n(a book)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>la<\/strong> page<br \/>\n(the page)<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (a, an)\"><strong>une<\/strong> page<br \/>\n(a page)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(b) The articles <strong>le<\/strong> and <strong>la<\/strong> become <strong>l&#8217;<\/strong> before words that begin with a vowel or a silent <strong>h<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><strong>l&#8217;\u00e9tudiant<\/strong>,<strong> l&#8217;avenue<\/strong>,<strong> l&#8217;\u00eele<\/strong>,<strong> l&#8217;universit\u00e9<\/strong>,<strong> l&#8217;h\u00f4pital<\/strong>,<strong> l&#8217;homme <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">These are called <a title=\"3.21: Structure - \u00c9lisions\" href=\"https:\/\/human.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Languages\/French\/French_OER_1_(Carrasco_Zahedi_and_Parrish)\/03%3A_Unite_3_-_La_famille\/3.21%3A_Structure_-_Elisions\" rel=\"internal\">\u00e9lisions<\/a>. An elision is a type of contraction that occurs when two words are combined: one or more letters are dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. In English, elisions like &#8220;I&#8217;m&#8221; and &#8220;can&#8217;t&#8221; are optional and indicate informality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(c) When nouns are plural, the articles must also be plural in order to agree with them. Most plural nouns in French end in <strong>-s<\/strong>. There are also some irregular plurals such as<strong> -x<\/strong>: le chapeau =&gt; les chapeau<strong>x<\/strong>; beau =&gt; beau<strong>x<\/strong>. Here are the plural forms with number agreement:<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\">\n<caption>Plural articles with gender agreement<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\">Genre<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">D\u00e9fini (the)<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">Masculin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>les<\/strong> livres<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)\"><strong>des<\/strong> livres<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"row\" data-th=\"Genre\">F\u00e9minin<\/th>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"D\u00e9fini (the)\"><strong>les<\/strong> pages<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Ind\u00e9fini (\u00d8, some)\"><strong>des<\/strong> pages<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div class=\"box-note\">\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104337 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Note<\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">In English, you usually don&#8217;t use a plural indefinite article (like &#8220;some&#8221;). Instead we just say the plural noun without an article: thus, &#8220;a shoe&#8221; simply becomes &#8220;shoes&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li class=\"lt-human-104337\">Notice how the gender (masculine, feminine) distinction seems to have disappeared with these plural articles (<strong>les, des<\/strong>). However, the nouns have not lost their gender, and any other adjectives that are added to them must still agree with them in gender.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">(d) Since each noun is either masculine or feminine (gender) and singular or plural (number), all adjectives used to describe \u2014 or modify how we understand \u2014 these nouns must agree with the gender and number of the nouns. For example:<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-indent-1 lt-human-104337\"><audio controls=\"controls\"><\/audio><\/p>\n<table class=\"mt-responsive-table\">\n<caption>Articles with number agreement<\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Singulier<\/th>\n<th class=\"mt-align-center\" scope=\"col\">Pluriel<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>un<\/strong> chapeau noir<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>des<\/strong> chapeau<strong>x<\/strong> noir<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>une<\/strong> robe bleue<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>des<\/strong> robe<strong>s<\/strong> bleue<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>le<\/strong> chapeau blanc<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> chapeau<strong>x<\/strong> blanc<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>la<\/strong> chaussure rouge<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> chaussure<strong>s<\/strong> rouge<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Singulier\"><strong>l&#8217;<\/strong>imperm\u00e9able jaune<\/td>\n<td class=\"mt-align-center lt-human-104337\" data-th=\"Pluriel\"><strong>les<\/strong> imperm\u00e9able<strong>s<\/strong> jaune<strong>s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<div class=\"box-note\">\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104337 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Note<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104337\">In spoken French, we don&#8217;t hear the plural <strong>-s<\/strong> so we rely on other sounds to determine if it&#8217;s plural or singular. For example, compare the pronunciation of the singular <strong>le<\/strong> to the plural <strong>les<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_2\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"editable\">On approfondit !<\/h2>\n<div class=\"box-definition\">\n<div class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"box-legend lt-human-104348 editable\"><span class=\"lt-icon-default\">Ressources\u00a0en ligne<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"lt-human-104333\">Use the following resources\u00a0to\u00a0type accents and\/or search for words:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"link-https\" title=\"Accent website\" href=\"https:\/\/french.typeit.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener nofollow\">Accents<\/a>:\u00a0\u00e7,\u00a0\u00e0,\u00a0\u00e9,\u00a0\u00e8,\u00a0\u00e2,\u00a0\u00ea,\u00a0\u00ee,\u00a0\u00f4,\u00a0\u00fb,\u00a0\u00f9,\u00a0\u00eb,\u00a0\u00ef,\u00a0\u00fc<\/li>\n<li><a class=\"link-https\" title=\"French dictionary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wordreference.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"external noopener nofollow\">Dictionnaire<\/a>\u00a0fran\u00e7ais-anglais<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_3\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong>Exercice 1 : articles d\u00e9finis (singulier)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5084\/embed\">https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5084\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_4\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a02\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>: articles d\u00e9finis (pluriel)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5085\/embed\">https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5085\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_5\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a03\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>: articles ind\u00e9finis (singulier)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5086\/embed\">https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5086\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_6\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a04 :<\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0articles ind\u00e9finis (pluriel)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5087\/embed\">https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/5087\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_7\" class=\"mt-section\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"editable\"><strong><strong><strong>Exercice\u00a05 : singulier vs pluriel<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/2150\/embed\">https:\/\/studio.libretexts.org\/h5p\/2150\/embed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"mt-content-footer\">\n<hr class=\"autoattribution-divider\" \/>\n<div class=\"autoattribution\">\n<p>This page titled <a class=\"internal mt-self-link\" href=\"https:\/\/human.libretexts.org\/Bookshelves\/Languages\/French\/French_OER_1_(Carrasco_Zahedi_and_Parrish)\/01%3A_Unite_1_-_Bonjour\/1.14%3A_Structure_-_Determinants_-_articles_definis_et_indefinis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"internal noopener\">1.14: Structure &#8211; D\u00e9terminants &#8211; articles d\u00e9finis et ind\u00e9finis<\/a> is shared under a <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CC BY-NC 4.0<\/a> license and was authored, remixed, and\/or curated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.palomar.edu\/pages\/worldlanguages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">William J. 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