In this section: 

• Introduction aux noms / Introduction to Nouns 
• Les articles indéfinis / Determiners: Definite Articles
• Les articles indéfinis / Determiners: Indefinite Articles
• “Voilà” vs “il y a”  / “There is” and “There are”

Introduction aux noms / Introduction to Nouns 

A noun is essentially a label for places, things, events, ideas, concepts and so on. Like English, nouns in French may be categorized as common or proper, count or mass, singular or plural. However, unlike English, French nouns are also categorized as either masculine or feminine.

common vs. proper
Common nouns in English and French are the generic term for something. Common nouns are never spelled with a capital letter unless they begin a sentence.

un serpent      a snake

Proper nouns are specific names and thus begin with capital letters.

Sam et Sacha      Sam and Sacha

count vs. mass
Another way of classifying nouns is according to whether they can be counted or not. Count nouns identify individual entities that can be counted, like chairs.

un chaise, deux chaises      one chair, two chairs

In contrast, a mass noun refers to an entity as an uncountable unit. In the following example, the bread that Sam is eating is conceived of as a mass, that is, an undefined quantity.

Sam mange du pain.      Sam is eating bread.

The difference between count and mass nouns is usually clearcut. However, something that is typically countable such as an animal (one snake, two snakes, three snakes) can nevertheless be conceived of in terms of a mass, as in the following tasteless example.

singular vs. plural
All nouns in French and English are marked for number, that is, for singular (one) or plural (more than one). French, like English, usually indicates plurality by adding an -s to the end of the base form, the singular noun. Count nouns have both singular and plural forms:

le chien, les chiens       the dog, the dogs

Mass nouns typically have only a singular form. Try saying the plural forms of the following English mass nouns: sewage, mucus, plasma.

It sounds strange doesn’t it? This shows that it is difficult to pluralize a mass noun.

masculine vs. feminine
In English, grammatical gender is based on biology and is only relevant for pronouns (he, she, it) and possessive determiners (his, her, its). Gender in French, on the other hand, affects all nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles. A noun’s gender is indicated by the article that precedes it. Masculine nouns are preceded by le and feminine nouns by la. The use of articles in French is more widespread than in English.

Unlike English, the grammatical concept of gender in French has little to do with biological sex. Therefore, inanimate objects such as tables and desks are categorized as either masculine or feminine (there is no neuter gender in French grammar).

Remember that gender in French, for the most part, is not about sex, but is simply an arbitrary category. The terms ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ really mean nothing more than ‘noun class A’ and ‘noun class B’. Because grammatical gender is fairly arbitrary, it is essential to memorize a noun’s gender along with its spelling and pronunciation.

Les articles définis/ Determiners: Definite Articles

forms

In French, few nouns can stand alone. Most need to be introduced or ‘determined’ by an article. As in English, an article is characterized as either definite (‘the’) or indefinite (‘a’, ‘an’). In addition, French articles are also masculine or feminine, singular or plural, according to the gender and number of the noun they determine. Here are the definite articles in French:

élision and liaison
In the examples above, note that le and la both become l’ when they precede a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h: l’escargot, l’université. This is called elision.

Unlike le and la, les does not have a contracted, reduced form. When les is followed by a word starting with a vowel, the normally silent final s of les is pronounced, making a /z/ sound. This additional sound linking two words is called liaison. Listen to the following examples:

Note that elision and liaison occur with most words starting with h: l’homme, les hommes, l’hiver, les hivers. Exceptions to this rule are words beginning with an aspirate ‘h’.

to identify a specific noun
The definite article is used to identify a specific noun or to refer to a noun that has already been specified.

to express general truths or concepts
French uses the definite article to express general truths or concepts. English, in contrast, uses no article at all. Compare the following sentences:

to express likes and dislikes
The French also use the definite article with verbs of preference, such as aimer, préférer, détester. Once again, English omits the article in such general statements. For example:

to indicate habitual recurrence
The definite article is used in French with moments of the day, days of the week, and seasons to indicate habitual recurrence. For example:

in a series
The article is usually repeated in a series, in contrast to English. For example:

no article

Cities usually do not require an article in French. For example:

Continents, countries, states, regions, and oceans usually require an article (l’Afrique, la France, le Texas, la Bourgogne, l’Atlantique etc.), but there are a few exceptions, usually islands: Haïti, Israël, Madagascar. See prepositions with place names for more information.

Months never require an article: janvier, février, mars, etc.

Days of the week do not require an article in instances where they do not indicate habitual recurrence. For example:

Listen to the dialogue:

Les articles indéfinis / Determiners: Indefinite Articles

forms
In French, few nouns can stand alone. Most need to be introduced or ‘determined’ by an article. As in English, an article is characterized as either definite (‘the’) or indefinite (‘a’, ‘an’). In French, articles are also masculine or feminine, and singular or plural, according to the gender and number of the noun they determine. Here are the indefinite articles in French:

In the examples above, listen carefully to the difference in pronunciation of un and des before words beginning with a consonant (un tatou, des tatous) and before a words beginning with a vowel sound (un écureuil, des écureuils). These are examples of liaison.

uses
As the English ‘a’ ‘an’ or ‘some’, the indefinite articles un, une, des refer to nouns which are non-specific. Un or une may also indicate quantity, ‘a’ or ‘an’ in the sense of ‘one.’ Contrast the use of the indefinite and definite articles in the first two sentences below. The indefinite plural des is always expressed in French, but its English equivalent ‘some’ is often omitted.

‘de’ after the negative
In a negative sentence, the indefinite articles un, une, des are replaced by de or d’:

However, following the verb être, the indefinite articles un, une, des remain unchanged in the negative:

before a plural adjective
Before a plural adjective which precedes a noun, des usually becomes de. If the adjective comes after the noun, des does not change to de.

with adjectives of profession, nationality, and religion
Professions, nationalities and religions are considered adjectives in French and need no article after the verbs être and devenir.

Listen to the dialogue:

“Voilà” vs “il y a”  / “There is” and “There are”

Il y a and voilà are two ways of introducing nouns. They are translated into English as ‘there is / there are’ or ‘here is / here are.’

il y a
Il y a + noun usually indicates the existence of a person or a thing in the context of a particular setting. It is commonly translated as ‘there is’ or ‘there are.’ For example:

The negation of ‘il y a’ is il n’y a pas, ‘there is / are not’. You will also find these forms: il n’y a plus, ‘there is / are not anymore’, il n’y a jamais, ‘there is / are never’.

The verb avoir in the expression il y a may be conjugated in any tense or mood, for example, in the past (il y avait, ‘there was’) or in the future (il y aura, ‘there will be.’)

voilà / voici
Voilà + noun and voici + noun are commonly translated as ‘here is/are’. They are used to indicate the sudden appearance of something or someone, to introduce people or ideas. Alternating between voici and voilà is common when referring to more than one item.