11 - How to Say "the" in French (French Definite Articles)

 
 

While English has one definite article ("the"), French has four! In this lesson, I'll explain the concept of gender, and you'll also learn the four ways to translate "the" in French.

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Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!

Bonjour! And welcome back to another episode of the French Made Easy Podcast. It's episode number 11, numéro onze, and today you will learn the four ways to translate "the" in French. 

For this episode, I strongly recommend you download your episode cheat sheet or at least check out the transcript. It will make things so much easier for you to understand. I've put the link in the episode notes. 

Ready? On y va. Let's go. 

In French, there are four ways to translate "the," and it depends on whether the noun after it is masculine, feminine, plural, or if it starts with a vowel. 

Ok. So now you're probably like "wow... what are you talking about, Mathilde? What feminine, what masculine?" 🤨

Let me explain the concept of gender very briefly.

In French, unlike English, every noun, whether a thing or being, has a gender. The pen, the woman, the car, you name it: every single noun is either masculine or feminine. Sometimes, it kind of makes sense, and sometimes there's just no logic to it. 

For example, "the pen" (le stylo) is masculine. "The car" (la voiture) is feminine. "The skirt" (la jupe) is feminine. That one makes more sense.

There are ways to find out the gender of a noun, but what I recommend for now is to check in a dictionary if the noun is masculine or feminine.

Now that we've got that in mind, let's go back to the word "the". There are four ways to translate "the" in French:

  • "le"

  • "la"

  • "l'"

  • "les"

Grammatically speaking, they are called definite articles, and they all mean "the."

So, you're going to ask me, "Ok, so which one should I use?"

Well, you're going to use "le" in front of masculine nouns.

For example, "the lemon" is "le citron." 🍋 The word "lemon" in French is "citron," and it is a masculine word. So I'm going to translate "the" as "le." "Le citron."

Then, you're going to use "la" in front of feminine nouns.

For example, "the apple" is "la pomme." 🍎 The word "apple" in French is "pomme," and it is a feminine word. So I'm going to translate "the" as "la." "La pomme."

Next one, you're going to use "les" in front of plural nouns, regardless of their gender. 

For example, "the strawberries" is "les fraises" 🍓🍓 Here, "fraises" is feminine, but it doesn't really matter because it's also plural. You hear the 'S' in English, but you don't hear the 'S' in French, so to let you know it's plural, I'm going to translate "the" as "les." "Les fraises."

Très bien, very good. 

Last one, you're going to use use "L'" before a noun that starts with a vowel, regardless of its gender.

For example, "the pineapple" is "'l'ananas." 🍍The word "pineapple" in French is "ananas," so starts with a vowel, and it is a masculine word. But the gender here doesn't really matter because the noun "ananas" starts with an 'A,' which is a vowel. So I'm going to translate "the" as "l'." L'ananas. 

So to recap, to translate "the" in French, you're going to use the definite articles:

  • "Le" that goes in front of masculine nouns: le citron. 

  • "La" that goes in front of feminine nouns: la pomme.

  • "Les" that goes in front of plural nouns, regardless of their gender: les fraises.

  • "L'" that goes in front of nouns starting with a vowel, regardless of their gender: l'ananas.

Well done! Bien joué. 👏 That was our very first grammar lesson, and if you've listened to me that far, you've done very well.

That's the end of this episode, thank you so much for listening guys. Don’t forget to go to your lesson’s exercises by clicking the link in the episode’s note. Make sure you hit subscribe, so you don't miss out on any new episodes. And if you are enjoying this podcast, I'd really appreciate a quick rating and review! 

Merci beaucoup et à bientôt. 👋

Mathilde Kien24 Comments