143 - How to Use Contracted Articles in French (Au, Aux, Du, Des)
In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to use French contractions between the prepositions 'à' and 'de' and definite articles. For example, 'Je vais (à+le) marché' (I’m going to the market) contracts to 'Je vais au marché.' (These contractions are not optional!)
After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Transcript
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"!
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 143, numéro 143!
Today, we’re talking grammar! And more specifically: contractions between the prepositions and articles.
A few weeks ago, we wrapped up my new 28-Day Grammar Challenge where the students who are enrolled in the program had to create sentences in French every single day for 28 days, and I was correcting all of their sentences. So it was super fun!
But one common issue I've noticed among many students is the use of contractions between articles and prepositions, or rather the lack of use. And I think that might be because contractions are somewhat optional in English, but don’t quote me on this though, I’m no English teacher, but in French, those types of contractions, which I’ll explain all about in a second, between articles and prepositions, are not optional at all. So might be why so many students are having a little issue with it and that’s why I really wanted to have an episode on that topic.
Now, as usual, before we start our lesson, if you're new to the podcast, welcome! Make sure you have your lesson's cheat sheet in front of you, so you can listen to the words and see how they are written. And when you finish this lesson, you can head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to download your lesson's exercises and practice what you've learned today. You'll find all the download links in the episode notes on your podcast platform.
What are contractions?
A contraction is when two words are combined into one shorter word.
In French, they are different types of contractions, with different types of words, but today we’ll focus on the most important and common ones: the contractions between the prepositions “à” and “de” and the definite articles (le, la, l’, les).
Before we go any further, let me give a recap of what the prepositions ‘à’ and ‘de’ mean:
"à" (with an accent, and side note, it’s also something I noticed a lot, accents are not optional in French!) translates to "to," "at," or "in," depending on the context.
"de" can mean "of," "from," or "about," with the exact translation also being context-dependent.
Alright, now when these 2 little prepositions, à and de, are next to a definite article, they contract into one word!
Another quick recap: definite articles, which translate as “the” in English, are ‘le’ for masculine singular nouns, ‘la’ for feminine singular nouns, ‘les’ for plural nouns, and ‘l’ for nouns starting with a vowel. I’ve an episode on that, episode 11.
Let’s first look at how the preposition ‘à’ contracts.
"à" + "le" = "au"
Example: Je vais au cinéma. (I am going to the cinema.) ❌ Je vais [à + le] cinéma.
Example: Il est au restaurant. (He is at the restaurant.) ❌ Je vais [à + le] restaurant.
"à" + "les" = "aux"
Example: Nous allons aux États-Unis. (We are going to the United States.) ❌ Nous allons [à + les] États-Unis.
Example: Ils vont aux toilettes. (They are going to the toilets.) ❌ Ils vont [à + les] toilettes.
When the preposition à comes in contact with the other definite articles, la or l’, they do not contract!
Example: Je suis à la maison. (I am at home.)
Example: Nous allons **à l'**école. (We are going to school.)
Alright, so that’s it for the contractions with the prepositions à and the definite articles.
Now, let’s see how the preposition "de" combines with definite articles:
"de" + "le" = "du"
Example: Elle vient du marché. (She comes from the market.) ❌ Elle vient [de+le] marché.
Example 2: Le chat du voisin est très calme. (The neighbor's cat is very calm.) ❌ Le chat [de+le] voisin est très calme.
"de" + "les" = "des"
Example: Ils parlent des livres. (They are talking about the books.) ❌ Ils parlent [de+les] livres.
Example: Nous venons des États-Unis. (We come from the United States.) ❌ Nous venons [de+les] États-Unis.
When the preposition de comes in contact with the other definite articles, la or l’, they do not contract!
Example 1: Nous profitons de la vue. (We enjoy the view.)
Example 2: Il vient de l’étranger. (He comes from abroad.)
Now, let me add an important note here, these contractions that we’ve just seen, they are NOT optional! Please remember that. You do not have the option to do it or not do it. These contractions are mandatory. You don’t have a choice!
Alright, now let’s do a recap’
When the preposition à comes in contact with…
"à" + "le" become "au".
"à" + "les" become to "aux".
"à" does not contract with "la" or "l’".
And when the preposition de comes in contact with…
"de" + "le" become "du".
"de" + "les" become "des".
"de" does not contract with "la" or "l’
And that wraps up today’s episode! This should hopefully help clarify how to correctly use those contractions in French. Now please make sure you’re downloading the free exercises for this episode, so you can practice what you’ve just learned. Super important. I’ll chat with you next week! Bye.