LE, LA, LES, UN, UNE, DES – Today’s French

French Articles

Part of Definite and Indefinite Articles | Masculine and Feminine in French

Saying THE and A or AN. THE has 4 translations in French: LE, LA, L’, LES. A/AN has 3 translations in French: UN, UNE, DES.

French words have a gender. For instance, a cheese is masculine and a baguette is feminine. The gender shows up in the article, but also in the adjective, so it’s important to know them:

the fresh baguette and the fresh cheese –> la baguette fraîche et le fromage frais

Sometimes, the gender is obvious (a man, a woman); sometimes, there is no logic to it. Therefore, it is necessary to memorize the gender with every new noun you are learning.

Exercice sur les articles définis

Fill in the blanks with LE, LA, UN or UNE. Review the gender of the noun on the first lesson “French Alphabet”. The answers are in the last column.