12.1.1

The, A, Some, Any

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Le, Un - The, A

There are different words for 'a' and 'the' depending on if the noun is masculine or feminine.

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'The'

  • Le → masculine singular.
  • Les → masculine plural.
  • L' → before vowels or some words begining with 'h'.
  • La → feminine singular.
  • Les → feminine plural.
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'The'

  • Le chien 🐕 - the dog.
  • Les chiens 🐕 - the dogs.
  • L'hôpital - hospital.
  • L'avion ✈️ - plane.
  • La pomme 🍎 - the apple.
  • Les pommes 🍎 - the apples.
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'A'

  • Un → masculine singular.
  • Une → feminine singular.
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'A'

  • Un chien 🐕 - a dog.
  • Une pomme 🍎 - an apple.

De, À

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Du, de la, de l', des - some

  • 'De' is a preposition that means 'some'. When it is used with 'le, la etc' it changes.
  • De + le → Du - masculine singular.
  • De + la → De la - feminine singular.
  • De + l' → De l' - before a vowel or some 'h'.
  • De + les → Des - masculine, feminine plural
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Du, de la, de l', des - some

  • Je mange de + le → du chocolat 🍫.
    • I eat (some) chocolate.
  • Je mange de la pizza 🍕.
    • I eat (some) pizza.
  • Je mange de + les → des pâtes 🍝.
    • I eat (some) pasta.
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De, d' - of, from, any

  • 'De' is used after describing amounts. In this case, it means 'of':
  • J'ai beaucoup de pommes de terre 🥔.
    • I have a lot of potatoes.
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'De' in negative sentences

  • 'De' is also used in negative sentences, when 'some' becomes 'not any'.
  • J'ai des pommes 🍎
    • I have (some) apples
  • Je n'ai pas de pommes 🍎
    • I don't have any apples.
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À and de

  • The prepostion 'à', like 'de', changes form depending on the gender and person of the noun.
  • À + le → Au - masculine singular.
  • À + la → À la - feminine singular.
  • À + l' → À l' - before a vowel or some 'h'.
  • À + les → Aux - masculine, feminine plural
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À and de

  • Je reste à + le → au lit 🛏️.
    • I stay in bed.
  • Je viens de + le → du Brésil 🇧🇷.
    • I come from Brazil.
  • Je vais à + les → aux États-Unis 🇺🇸.
    • I'm going to the USA.

Jump to other topics

1The Changing Nature of Family

2The 'cyber-society'

3The Place of Voluntary Work

4Diverse Society

5The Marginalised

6How Criminals Are Treated

7A Culture Proud of its Heritage

8Cinema: the 7th Art Form

9Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power?

10Politics & Immigration

11Conjugation & Use of Tenses

11.1Present Tense

11.2Perfect Tense

11.3Imperfect Tense

11.4Future Tense

11.5Conditional Tense

11.6Future Perfect Tense

11.7Conditional Perfect Tense

11.8Pluperfect Tense

12Extra Grammar

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