Articles in French Definite: the Indefinite: a/an/one/some

On your paper sort the following words by the definite articles: la radio la musique les frites le chocolat l’anglais les vacances l’école le dessin la glace les maths Le La Les l’

Pourquoi le, la, les ou l’? 1. What do all the words with “les” have in common? 2. What do the words with (l’) words have in common? 3. What do the words with “le” have in common? 4. What do the words with “la” have common? 5. Quelle est la différence entre le, la, les, l’ (definite articles) et un, une, des (indefinite articles)?

Does it start with a vowel? Is it female? Is it male? Is it plural? Does it start with a vowel? no no no yes yes yes yes le les l’ la Definite Articles the

What to use? You must ask yourself 3 questions in the following order to know what definite article to use 1. Is the noun plural? If the noun ends in an “s” then it is plural and you use “Les.”(les vacances, les frites, les amis) 2. If the noun is not plural then ask the 2nd question - Does the noun begin with a vowel? If yes, then you use (L’) as your marker. (l’école, l’anglais) 3. If the noun is not plural and does not begin with a vowel then you have to ask- Is the noun feminine or masculine? If is masculine, you use (Le) and if it is feminine, you use (La) (le journal, la glace)

Does it come after a negative ne…pas Is it female? Is it male? Does it come after a negative ne…pas Is it plural? no no no yes yes yes yes un De/d’ des une Indefinite Articles a/an/one/some

White Board Practice: use the chart Definite Article=the Indefinite Article= a/an/one/some plural les Des Starts with a vowel l’ is female la une is male le un After a negative Ne…pas De/d’