NOUNS In French, nouns are either masculine or feminine. There are no hard and fast rules about the gender of a noun so you just have to learn the gender as you go along. Some rules can guide you to an extent. If a word ends in –e, it is normally feminine. If a word ends in a consonant, it is usually masculine. It is always best to check in a dictionary first and see whether it says NM (masculine) or NF (feminine). Try if you prefer to use online resources. This information is vitally important when learning French and you will see why later on.

Definite Articles:le lal’les The definite article is the word the. Why is it called the definite article? Think of this example: Have you eaten a cake?Yes, I have eaten a cake. The cake is not specific. Have you eaten the cake? Yes, I have eaten the cake. There is definitely only one cake in this situation. Remember that in French nouns are masculine or feminine and can also be singular (just one) or plural (more than one). This information tells you which definite article you need to use so remember to check in a dictionary if you are not sure.

DEFINITE ARTICLES:Le, La, Les, L’ MASCULINE OR FEMININE? SINGULAR OR PLURAL? AIM: To learn how to use a reference chart to apply grammar rules to definite articles.

DEFINITE ARTICLE THE MASCULINE SINGULAR le FEMININE SINGULAR la MASCULINE PLURAL les FEMININE PLURAL les WORDS BEGINNING WITH A VOWEL l’ AFTER A NEGATIVE de/d’

Match up the definite article in French with the gender/number of the noun in English. Le La L’ Les Feminine singular Vowel / H Plural Masculine singular

Now you will see a demonstration of how to apply this knowledge in some examples. When looking up the gender of nouns, you can either use a paper dictionary or an online dictionary like

Look at the following sentences and look up the noun in the dictionary. Is it masculine (m) or feminine (f)? Singular (s) or plural (p)? Does it begin with a vowel or an “h”? Choose the correct definite article (the): 1, 2, 3 or a.(Le / La / L’ / Les) garage est vide. b.(Le / La / L’ / Les) Allemagne est près de la France. c.(Le / La / L’ / Les) voiture est verte. d.(Le / La / L’ / Les) parc est génial. e.(Le / La / L’ / Les) oiseau est gris. f.(Le / La / L’ / Les) tigres sont sauvages. g.(Le / La / L’ / Les) gâteau est délicieux. h.(Le / La / L’ / Les) chien est méchant. i.(Le / La / L’ / Les) hôtel est impressionnant. j.(Le / La / L’ / Les) télévision ne marche pas. k.(Le / La / L’ / Les) écoles sont bien équipées. l.(Le / La / L’ / Les) guitare est bleue. a.1: ms b.3: vowel c.2: fs d.1: ms e.3: vowel f.4: mp g.1: ms h.1: ms i.3: vowel j.2: fs k.4: fp l.2: fs

Find out the gender of the nouns and then write the correct definite article (le / la / l’ / les) in the blank provided. a.____ bateau est grand. b.____ souris est petite. c.____ Eurostar est rapide. d.____ bibliothèque est ouverte. e.____ anglais est difficile. f.____ français est facile. g.____ moto est lente. h.____ vélos sont pratiques. i.____ pantalon est chic. j.____ radio est bleue. k.____ mobylettes sont dangereuses. l.____ chaise est élégante. Le La L’ La L’ Le La Les Le La Les La le la les l’

Translate these phrases by using a dictionary, remembering to ask yourself the important questions before you decide on the correct definite article: *Is it masculine (m) or feminine (f)? *Is it singular (s) or plural (p)? *Does it begin with a vowel or an “h”? 1.The forest 2.The battery 3.The lounge 4.The sponge 5.The ice-rink 6.The banks 7.The ice-cream 8.The apartment 9.The fish 10.The cars 11.The (train) station 12.The brother 1.La forêt 2.La pile 3.Le salon 4.L’éponge 5.La patinoire 6.Les banques 7.La glace 8.L’appartement 9.Le poisson 10.Les voitures 11.La gare 12.Le frère

DEFINITE ARTICLES: Le, La, Les, L’ MASCULINE OR FEMININE? SINGULAR OR PLURAL? AIM: To learn how to use a reference chart to apply grammar rules to definite articles.