Work Unit 1: The Noun and the Definite and lndefinite Articles (Singular) 27
$TRUCTURES DE LA LANGUE
I
THE IlEFINITE ARTICLES
Masculine Nouns
le pdre
the father
I'homme
the man
le gargon
the boy
Itami
the friend (boy)
le frdre
the brother
le fils
the son
Feminine Nouns
the mother
la femme
the woman. wife
the girl
I'amie
the friend (girl)
the sister
la fille
the daughter
F(ules and observations:
\ouns are classified by gender, which means that they are either masculine or f'eminine. A noun is a word that
refers to a person, thing, place, or quality; e.g.,la mdre, la chaise, le salon, la beaut6 (beauty).
:
\ouns denoting persons of the male sex are naturally of the masculine
-
,\nimalsthataremaleorfemalearenaturallyof themasculineorfemininegender; e.g.,lechat, lachatte(the
\ouns denoting persons of the female sex are naturally of the feminine
gender.
gender.
cat).
:
-
Things are also either masculine or feminine, but there is no easy way to determine their gender. You must leam
the gender of a noun when you learn the noun by putting le or Ia in front of itl Le is masculine, la is feminine.
drops and the a in la drops. You're left with
-
I' in front, if they begin with a vowel or a silent h. The e in le
I'ami, I'amie.
Some nouns, whether masculine or feminine, take
l':
Some nouns are sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine, in which case the meaning changes;
e.g.,lelivre (the
book), la livre (the pound)
:
To sum it up, French has three lbrms for the definite article in the singular: le, la,
l'-they
all mean the.
28
Le chapeau 6chapp6
A Few More Common Masculine Nouns
the tree
le
fils
beurre the butter
le caf6 the coffee, the caf6
le
garage
l'arbre
le
le
chapeau
the son
mari
le nom
le
the hat
the garage
the husband
the name
I'ordinateur
chef the chief, the chef
I'enfant the child (boy)
le
thecomputer
portable
le t6l6phone
the cell phone
A Few More Common Feminine Nouns
la
bouche
la
calculatrice
I'heure
the mouth
the hour
the calculator
la maison
the house
la campagne the countryside
la montre
the watch
la
chaise
la porte
the chair
I'enfant the child (girl)
la famille the family
la souris
Ia table
the door
the mouse
the table
EXERCI SES
Review the preceding material before starting these exercises.
I.
Use the appropriate definite article in the singular: le, la, or
1.
2. _
3. _
4. _
5.
-ami
garqon
mdre
pbre
jeune fille
l'.
6. _homme
7.
caf6
8.
chapeau
9.
enfant
10.
11.
12.
_nom
_
arbre
13.
lit
14.
Porte
15.
-_
-
amie
Work Unit 1: The Noun and the Definite and lndelinite Articles (Singular) 29
\\brd Hunt.
Can you find these 10 words in French in this puzzle?
1. the woman
l.
the man
-i.
the boy
j.
the girl
-i.
the sister
b
the tree
LA
OL
JH
AU
LA
EB
LE
AL
LE
ZY
the child
].
the brother
i.
the book
.
1l
the mother
ML
EG
IL
or
JE
LE
JO
AF
LE
LE
EL
AR
AM
LH
UN
FR
UR
EM
NF
LA
IV
ao
ER
OM
EF
ER
LA
ME
AN
MO
R
N
E
M
I
E
I
M
T
I
EPL
FGA
AES
EEO
LLE
AEU
ROR
BOY
RUE
ENA
Substitute the word in parentheses for the noun in italics. Use the appropriate definite article. Then rewrite the
s3ntence.
\Iodel:
Le livre est ld-bas.
(The book is over there.)
.\. La maison
1
t.
est
(pdre)
(mdre)
(garEon)
(jeune fille)
5
(ami)
li-bas.
(The house is over there.)
(femme) La femme est lh-bas.
(The woman is over there.)
30
[e chapeau 6chapp6
Le professeur parle beaucoup.
B. Le professeur parle
1.
(femme)
2.
(homme)
J.
(frbre)
4.
lsoeur)
5.
lfamille)
C. La porte est ici.
1.
(table)
2.
(chapeau)
(maison)
4.
(arbre)
5.
(cafd)
beaucoup.
(The professor talks a lot.)
(The door is here.)