Language/French/Grammar/Indefinite-article

Indefinite article in French

French Articles

French has 3 kinds of articles:

1. Definite articles
2. Indefinite articles
3. Partitive articles

The table below summarizes the different forms:

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French Articles
	Definite article	Indefinite article	Partitive
masculine	le	un	du
feminine	la	une	de la
in front of a vowel	l'	un/une	de l'
plural	les	des	des

Indefinite Article : Rule & Examples

In French, nouns are almost always preceded by an article or a determiner. This indicates the gender of the noun (masculine or feminine) and its number (singular or plural).

We use the indefinite articles (articles indéfinis) in the following cases:

To talk about something non-specific:

• Céline est une copine de Noémie. (one of many)

Céline is a friend of Noémie. (one of many)

To mention something for the first time in a text:

• Jean a acheté une moto.

Jean bought a motorbike.

In can be translated by “a” or “an” in English.

Video - French Indefinite Article / How to say “a” or “an” in French

Learn how to say “a” or “an” in French

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• Similar lessons : Definite article & Indefinite article
• More on this subject: Typical use of the indefinite article

Related Lessons

• Demonstrative pronouns with —ci and —là
• Compound adjectives involving demi—, nu— and mi—
• Pronominal verbs and body parts
• Gender
• Invariable adjectives
• An adjective agreeing with nouns linked by de
• Location of adverbs modifying verb phrases
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• Use of en
• Adverbs ending in —ment derived from the masculine form of an adjective
• An adjective agreeing with nouns linked by et, ou or ni
• Direct object quantifiers and « en »
• Use of il, ce, cela and ça as impersonal pronouns
• Nouns with irregular plurals
• Singular or plural when a number of individuals have one item each