Lesson 1 – Grammar: Definite Articles (le, la, l’, les)

درس تطبيقيشرح عربيأمثلة وتمارينتحرير ومراجعة: Jihanne

طريقة الاستفادة من الدرس: اقرأ الفكرة الأساسية أولاً، ثم قارن الأمثلة المترجمة. بعد ذلك حاول تكوين جملة من عندك قبل مراجعة التمرين.

The French definite article that corresponds to English “the” has several shapes. Let’s explore them step by step.

1. Singular: `le`

le occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a consonant (masculine).

French	English
le restaurant	the restaurant
le frère	the brother

la occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a consonant (feminine).

French	English
la rue	the street
la soeur	the sister

Note: You cannot switch articles — e.g. connaissance is only la, never le.

l’ occurs in front of French singular nouns that begin with a vowel. It is pronounced together with the noun.

French	Pronunciation	English
l’ami	(la-mi)	the friend
l’enfant	(len-fant)	the child

les occurs in front of all French plural nouns (regardless of gender).

French	English
les parents	the parents
les amis	the friends

Remember: When les is followed by a noun starting with a vowel, the s is pronounced like z.

Number	Gender	Before consonant	Before vowel
Singular	Masculine	le	l’
Singular	Feminine	la	l’
Plural	Both genders	les