French Definite Article / How to say THE in French (French Essentials Lesson 7)

Know how to say “the” in French?

Learn French With Alexa presents the French definite article in Lesson 07 of Alexa’s popular Beginner’s French Essentials course.

Bisou Bisou 💋

0:00 - 1:30 What is a definite article?
1:31 - 6:24 Definite articles in French
6:25 - 8:20 Test yourself on definite articles
8:21 - 10:10 Masculine and feminine words in French
10:11 - 11:56 Summary

----------------------------------------------

TAKE YOUR FRENCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL

----------------------------------------------

GET SOCIAL WITH ALEXA AND HER STUDENTS

----------------------------------------------

SHOP ALEXA'S RECOMMENDATIONS & MERCHANDISE

----------------------------------------------

MORE ABOUT LEARN FRENCH WITH ALEXA'S 'HOW TO SPEAK' FRENCH VIDEO LESSONS

Alexa Polidoro is a real French teacher with many years experience of teaching French to adults and children at all levels. People from all over the world enjoy learning how to speak French with Alexa's popular online video and audio French lessons. They're fun, friendly and stress-free! It's like she's actually sitting there with you, helping you along... Your very own personal French tutor.
Please Like, Share and Subscribe if you enjoyed this video.
Merci et Bisou Bisou xx

----------------------------------------------

Ready to take your French to the next level?

[jamie_bigs]

Notes I took during this lesson:

Background Information:
Noun - a word used to identify a class of people, places, or things
Examples:
Jenny is my sister. ["Jenny" is the noun because she is a person]
I live in Australia. ["Australia" is the noun because this is a place]
His car was giving us trouble. ["Car" is the noun because this is a thing]

Adjective - a word or phrase naming an attribute that is added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it
Examples:
They live in a beautiful house. ["Beautiful" is the adjective because it describes the noun, "house"]
He writes meaningless letters. ["Meaningless" is the adjective because it modifies/describes the noun, "letters"]
She was wearing a sleeveless shirt. ["Sleeveless" is the adjective because it describes the noun, "shirt"]

Verb - a word used to describe an action or occurrence which forms the main part of a sentence
Examples:
Anthony is throwing the football. ["Throwing" is the verb because it is an action/occurrence]
The dog ran across the yard. ["Ran" is the verb because it is an action]
She accepted the job offer. ["Accepted" is the verb because it is an action]

Adverb - a word or expression that modifies a verb, adjective, or sentence to express place, time, manner, circumstance, cause, degree, etc. to answer what?, how?, when?, where?, why?.
Examples:
Jessica coughed loudly to get his attention. ["Loudly" is the adverb because it modifies the verb "cough" and expresses cause/circumstance → answers the "what?", “how?”, "why?"]
He greedily ate the chocolate cake. ["Greedily" is the adverb because it modifies the verb "eat" and expresses manner → answers the “what?” + "how?"]
The child ran to his mother happily. ["Happily" is the adverb because it modifies the verb "run" and expresses manner → answers the “what?” + "how?"]

Superlative - a word used to express the degree of the quality of an adjective or an adverb
Examples:
He is the bravest out of his teammates. ["Bravest" is the superlative because it is the highest degree of "brave"]
Superman is the least powerful when he is exposed to Kryptonite. ["Least powerful" is the superlative because it is a degree of "powerful"]
Trains are the most expensive transport in London. ["Most expensive" is the superlative because it expresses the highest degree of "expensive"]

French Definite Articles:
Definite Article - A grammatical term that typically comes before a noun but can also come before an adjective or a superlative
[see "Background Information" above for help]

There is only one Definite Article in English → "The"
Examples:
1. The moon
2. The train
3. The cat

There are four Definite Articles in French → Le, La, Les, L’
[all of which mean “The”]

Le = used when the following word is masculine
La = used when the following word is feminine
Les = used when the following word is plural (has an “s” at the end of it)
L’ = used when the following word begins with a vowel or an “h”

Examples:

Le (masculine)
1. Le cinéma = The cinema/movies
2. Le sac = The bag
3. Le bateau = The boat
4. Le stylo = The pen
5. Le chocolat = The chocolate
6. Le ballon = The ball
7. Le tableau = The painting
8. Le livre* = The book
9. Le verre* = The glass
10. Le téléphone* = The telephone
11. Le garçon = The boy
12. Le chat = The cat
13. Le japon = Japan
14. Le portugal = Portugal

La (feminine)
1. La tomate = The tomato
2. La table = The table
3. La chaise = The chair
4. La voiture = The car
5. La cassette = The cassette
6. La carotte = The carrot
7. La banane = The banana
8. La porte = The door
9. La télévision* = The television
10. La fille = The girl
11. La femme = The woman
12. La chatte = The cat
13. La france = France
14. La belgique = Belgium

Les (plural, unisex)
1. Les tables = The tables
2. Les chaises = The chairs
3. Les voitures - The cars
4. Les ballons = The balls

L’ (vowels/”h”, unisex)
1. L’arbre = The tree
2. L’hôpital = The hospital
3. L’ordinateur = The computer
4. L’homme = The man
5. L'angleterre = England

Not sure when to use Le or La? Use the 75% Rule:
A French word that has an “e” and an “uh” sound at the end of it is likely to be feminine 75% of the time → in this case, “La” would be used
However, there are exceptions to this rule because it is effective only 75% of the time → Examples marked with a * are some of the exceptions in this lesson

[marvishah]

Give this woman an award. You have all my respect🙏🏽♥️

[reemalarnaoot]

Alexa I love you . When I don't understand my teacher I come back running to take my lesson from you. I wish you were my teacher.

[philoslother]

I have learnt more French with you than I have in 6 years of my school life and you make everything seem so easy and you are so interactive it almost feels like you are here ! YOU ARE THE BEST TEACHER EVER !!!

[willtran]

Sweet teacher. Nice voice. I really like your French accent while speaking English.

[AmmadAsim]

The slow pace at which Madame Alexa teaches is perfect for a beginner 💜

[austejarimkute]

I decided that I would leave a comment if I managed to get the top mark from the test in french I took today! And I did! And it's really all thanks to you. Thank you for being a true teacher. Your channel is wonderful. Merci beaucoup!

[vianneyarchive]

"It would sound wrong to us but in a way it's quite cute" this had me laughing! Thank goodness for these videos! I'm taking french and these have been so helpful! Merci, Alexa!

[AdellaMeng]

So lucky to find you on youtube. My French teacher always teach French in French which makes me crazy！！！You are a really a good teacher, love you soooo much. You saved me.

[khushigoyal]

I love your teaching are the best lessons are actually very easy to you

[dracuito]

Your lessons are very easy to grasp. Thank you

[cordeleons]

I like how she teaches. It's not boring, its not overwhelming, its like a bottle of wine with a nice shot 😃... I totally learn about definite article. Fanstatic Alexa!

[adyedits]

Summary / main point to make it easier for u ☺

L' = used with vowels or "h" silent
La = used with feminine words
Le = used with masculine words
Les = used with plural ( ex. Les tables )

[doctor.essykanon]

Bonjour Madame Alexa

Thanks again for the video. It was very easy cause i've done this before, but I believe
LOTS OF REVISION MAKES PERFECT!

For the "Little Game"
The answers we : 1. La porte - the door
2. Le ballons ou le ballon - the ball (though it sounds like the balloon)
3. Le tableau - the painting
4. L'ordinateur - the computer
5. Le livre - the book


Merci Beaucoup Madame Alexa

[tonyholyoak]

Where have you been all my life Alexa? Clear, concise and understandable. Thank you.

[fahriya]

I have been learning French for one year at school, and now in summer I decided to keep up with it and I would say that your lessons are much easier to understand! I enjoy watching your videos a lot, since they are so atmospheric, with your jokes and music and the information of course! And I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my ♥️

[aubreyalvarez]

I have been trying to learn French since the 6th grade. All these years later, I still haven’t mastered it. Thank for these videos that help us all on our French journey!

[ttaarruun]

4:38 I loved it how she said ‘ It still sounds cute’!!

[BellaSingingWang]

I feel your way to teach French is interesting  and easy to follow, Merci Alexa!

[SolRodino]

Lesson 7 done! Thank you Alexa, I love learning French with you!💖