Selected Grammar Explanations in English

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Selected Grammar Explanations in English

Chapter 7

The Article

Forms

There are three kinds of articles in French: the definite, indefinite, and partitive.

1. The definite article = le, la, l’, les (the)

a. Le is the masculine singular form, la is the singular feminine form, l’ precedes a singular noun that begins with a vowel or a mute h, les is the plural form for both genders.

b. The articles le and les contract with the preposition à (to, at, in) and with the preposition de (of, from, about).

A la, à l’, de la, de l’ are not contracted.

2. The indefinite article = un, une (a, an, one), des (any, some, several)

i Notes:

· Pronounce les /lez/, aux /oz/, des /dez/ in front of a vowel or mute h.

H: is never pronounced. It is a remnant of Latin spelling.

· Pronounce les /le/, aux /o/, des /de/ in front of a consonant or a h aspiré.

H: aspiré indicates that no liaison or no elision takes place between the article and the noun. In dictionaries, words with h aspiré are preceded by an asterisk (*héros). This grammar pronunciation rule is being slowly eliminated by the French Academy, which now “tolerates” the liaison between certain nouns and articles: les haricots /lezaRiko/ as compared with les / haricots /leaRiko/.

3. The partitive article = du, de la, de l’ (some, any)

a. Du is the masculine singular form, de la is the feminine singular form, de l’ is the masculine and feminine form in front of a singular noun beginning with a vowel or a mute h.

b. The plural form des is rarely used.

General Usage

You almost always use one of the three articles in front of a noun, and you repeat the article in front of each noun.

The Definite Article

In English, often no article is used at all. In French, the definite article is used if the noun is modified to show ownership (using the preposition de), or if the noun is a name of a species, an abstract noun, a noun denoting a general group, or a noun mentioned earlier in the sentence.

The Indefinite Article

In the singular, the indefinite article corresponds to a, an, one in English.

In English, often no article is used in the plural. In French, des is used with nouns that can be counted but is an unspecified number.

The Partitive Article

The partitive article is used with nouns that cannot be counted, but can be measured or divided. In English, often no article is used, but the words some or any may be used in front of the singular noun.

See examples in your manual.

Special Usage

Special Usage of the Definite Article

Use the indefinite article in the following cases:

1. in front of a person’s name preceded by his/her profession or function or by and adjective.

2. in front of a geographical noun: names of continents, regions, countries, states, provinces, rivers, mountains or islands.

i Note: The article is not used in front of the country Israël, or the islands, Tahiti, Haïti, Hawaïi.

3. to indicate the date, a day (or days) when something is repeated every week, or a time of day

4. with the verbs aimer, adorer, détester, préférer.

5. with expressions of measure, weight or speed

6. with the parts of the body, instead of possessive adjectives

7. with languages and courses of study.

No Article

Sometimes the article is omitted entirely.

1. in a proverb or a saying

2. in front of a title, an address, an inscription

3. with some prepositions:

en

avec, sans, comme et sous (if the noun following is abstract or unspecified)

4. with many idiomatic expressions like avoir faim, avoir soif, etc.

5. in a list, to make it livelier

6. after de between two nouns, if the second noun is unspecified

7. after the verb parler and a language

Changing the Article to de

Use de instead of un, une, des, du, de la, de l’ under the following circumstances:

1. In a negative sentence

i Exception: Keep the article with ce n’est pas, ce ne sont pas and pas un, which means not one single.

i Note: If only part of the sentence is negative, use the whole article.

2. With an expression of quantity. Here are the main ones:

a. Some are adverbs.

b. Some are nouns

c. Some are adjectives

But if the noun that follows an adjective of quantity is accompanied by a descriptive adjective, keep the indefinite article.

3. Use de + the whole article (du, de la, de l’, des) with the following expressions: bien… (much, many), encore… (some more), la moitié…(half), la plupart… (most).

i Notes:

· Encore un means one more.

· Always use la plupart des with a plural noun and a plural verb, except with the expression la plupart du temps.

· With a singular noun, most (of) is translated as la plus grande partie de.

4. Use de instead of des when a plural adjective precedes a noun.

This rule is a little archaic; it’s used in elegant speech and writing. In informal situations, des is commonly used.

i Notes:

· If the adjective is long and begins with a vowel or a mute h, you must use d’, NEVER des.

· Use des in front of combined nouns like des grand(s)-mères, des après-midi, or in front of “fixed” groups considered combined nouns (des petits pois, des jeunes gens); but use de in the negative.

· Always use d’ in front of autres, the plural form of un autre, une autre.

Use of the Indefinite Article with Nouns of Nationality, Religion and Occupation

1. In the 3rd person, there are two constructions with the verb être and the nouns of nationality, religion and occupation:

le sujet + être + the noun with the article

c’est

ce sont

i Notes:

· If the adjectives bon or mauvais modify the noun, the constructions are the same.

· If the adjective is something other than bon or mauvais, only the construction with the indefinite article can be used.

2. For the other subject pronouns (je, tu, nous, vous) you have a choice.

i Note: the verb devenir follows the same rule as être.

Use of the Article with se servir de / avoir besoin de / avoir envie de

The use of the article with the noun that follows these expressions is similar in French and English.

1. de, d’: the noun that follows represents an unspecified quantity, a noncountable noun. Without the article, it means some in English.

2. d’un, d’une: the noun that follows represents one single, non-identifiable object. In English: a, an.

3. du, de la, de l’, des: the noun that follows is an identifiable object. In English: the.

Supplemental Grammar Points

The Prepositions à, en and dans

1. The preposition à means at or to.

2. En means in or to and is never used with an article. Dans means à l’intérieur de (inside, within) and is always used with an article.

The Prepositions à, en, and dans with Geographical Names

1. Cities

a. Use à without an article in front of cities.

à Paris à Montréal

b. Use au, à la in front of a city that has an article in the name.

c. Use dans in front of a city when you mean à l’intérieur de or if you use an article and adjective in front of the city name.

2. Countries

The choice of the preposition used in front of countries depends upon the gender of the noun (masculine or feminine).

a. Use en (without an article) with feminine countries.

i Note: All countries ending in –e are feminine, except for le Mexique.

b. Use en (without an article) with all masculine countries beginning with a vowel.

en Iran en Afghanistan

c. Use au with masculine countries beginning with a consonant.

au Maroc au Japon au Portugal au Chili

d. Use aux with plural names of countries.

aux États-Unis aux Pays-Bays

3. Names of French Provinces

a. Use en in front of the feminine provinces, or the masculine provinces beginning with a vowel.

en Normandie en Bretagne en Anjou

b. Use au or dans le in front of masculine provinces beginning with a consonant.

au Berry dans le Poitou

4. Names of American States and Canadian Provinces

a. Use en in front of American states or Canadian provinces that have been feminized

or masculinized ones beginning with a vowel (See i below):

i Note: American states ending in –a or –ia have been Gallicized and feminized into –e or –ie, like la Louisiane, la Géorgie. Nouns of foreign or Native American origin ending in –a keep the –a in French and remain masculine: le Montana, le Nevada, le Manitoba, etc.

b. Use au in front of states’ names or masculinized provinces beginning with a consonant.

c. Use dans l’état de if the name of the state is also a city name.

dans l’état de New York

i You can use dans l’état de with all American states and dans la province de with all Canadian provinces.

5. Island Names

a. Some islands are like cities and use à without an article.

à Cuba à Tahiti

b. Some islands, like la Corse and la Sicile, are like feminine countries and are preceded by en.

en Corse en Sicile

c. Some islands use à with the article la.

à la Martinique à la Guadeloupe

The Preposition de with Geographical Names

The preposition de means from when used with a geographical name.

1. If you use à or en to say in or to, use de or d’ to say from.

2. If you use au to say in or to, use du to say from.

3. If you use aux to say in or to, use des to say from.