Day 6 · A1 · Lesson 6
Un, une, des and plurals
French never leaves a noun on its own. Learn the six little words for "the" and "a", when English drops them but French can't, and how to make nouns plural, including the famous seven words that take an x.
Cold guess
Before any rules, pick the one that sounds right. Guess freely. Your score is private. You'll get a fresh set at the end to compare.
___ maison
a house
___ livre
a book
___ amis
some friends
I love cats.
the cats
un gâteau → deux ___
two cakes
un journal → des ___
newspapers
un bus → des ___
buses
les chats: the final s is…
un œil → des ___
eyes
Score: / 10
Why it matters
English is happy to leave a noun on its own: I love cats. I have cats. French almost never does. Every noun gets a little word in front, and that word does a lot of work: it tells you the gender, whether there’s one or several, and whether you mean specific ones or just “some”.
| English | French | What the article says |
|---|---|---|
| I love cats. | J'aime les chats. | cats in general, the whole category |
| I have cats. | J'ai des chats. | some cats, I'm not saying which |
| The cats are hungry. | Les chats ont faim. | these specific cats |
And since the plural -s is silent, chat and chats sound exactly the same. In speech, the little word in front is often the only clue that there’s more than one. Skip it and nobody knows how many cats you have.
The little words
1. The six articles
| le | masculine: le livre |
|---|---|
| la | feminine: la maison |
| l' | before a vowel or silent h: l'ami, l'école, l'hôtel |
| les | plural, both genders: les livres, les maisons |
| un | masculine: un livre, un ami |
|---|---|
| une | feminine: une maison, une amie |
| des | plural, both genders: des livres, des amies |
Notice two things. Les and des are unisex: in the plural, the gender disappears from the article. And l’ hides the gender in the singular, which is why Lesson 5 told you to learn words with un or une: those always show it, even before a vowel (un hôtel, une école).
2. Le or un?
The difference is the same as English “the” and “a”, plus one extra job for le:
| Use | When | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un, une, des | one (or some) of many, not a particular one | Je cherche un appartement. (any apartment) |
| le, la, les | a specific one we both know about | L'appartement de Léa est grand. (that one) |
| le, la, les | the whole category, in general | J'aime le café. Les chats sont mignons. |
That third row is where English speakers slip. English says “I like coffee” with no article; French says J’aime le café, because you like coffee as a whole category. Verbs of liking and disliking (aimer, adorer, préférer, détester) almost always take le, la, les.
3. “Some” that English leaves out
Des is the plural of un and une. English translates it as “some”, but usually doesn’t say anything at all:
| English | French |
|---|---|
| I have friends in Montréal. | J'ai des amis à Montréal. |
| There are children in the park. | Il y a des enfants dans le parc. |
| She's buying flowers. | Elle achète des fleurs. |
If an English plural has no article, the French one almost always has des (some, unspecified) or les (in general). Never nothing.
(There’s a third family, du and de la, for things you can’t count, like du pain or de l’eau. It gets its own lesson at the café, Lesson 23.)
4. Making nouns plural
Most of the time it’s easy: add an -s, and don’t pronounce it. A few endings do something different:
| Singular ends in… | Plural | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| most letters | + s (silent) | un chat → des chats · une table → des tables |
| -s, -x, -z | no change | un bus → des bus · un prix → des prix · un nez → des nez |
| -eau | + x | un gâteau → des gâteaux · un bateau → des bateaux |
| -eu | + x | un jeu → des jeux · un cheveu → des cheveux (but pneus, bleus) |
| -al | → -aux | un journal → des journaux · un animal → des animaux (but festivals, carnavals) |
| -ail | usually + s | un détail → des détails (but un travail → des travaux) |
| -ou | usually + s | un trou → des trous · un clou → des clous (but seven take -x, see below) |
The famous seven. Only seven -ou words take an x: bijou (jewel), caillou (pebble), chou (cabbage), genou (knee), hibou (owl), joujou (toy) and pou (louse). French schoolchildren learn them with a silly rhyme you’ll find in the memory tricks below.
A few true irregulars: un œil → des yeux (eyes), monsieur → messieurs, madame → mesdames. The last two are fun: monsieur is really “mon sieur” (my sir), so both halves go plural: mes sieurs.
5. Hearing the plural
Since the -s (and -x) is silent, your ears need a different clue. Listen to the little word in front:
| Singular | Plural | What changes in sound |
|---|---|---|
| le chat (luh sha) | les chats (lay sha) | only the article |
| un livre (uhn leevr) | des livres (day leevr) | only the article |
| l'ami (lah-mee) | les amis (lay-zah-mee) | the article, plus a liaison z |
| un journal (zhoor-nal) | des journaux (zhoor-noh) | the word itself: -al becomes "oh" |
| un œil (uh-nuhy) | des yeux (day-zyuh) | a completely different word |
That’s why mumbling the article is a real problem in French: le and les are carrying the whole meaning.
Examples
- J'aime les chats.I love cats. (cats in general: les)
- J'ai un chat et des poissons.I have a cat and some fish.
- Le chat de Marc est noir.Marc's cat is black. (a specific cat: le)
- Il y a des enfants dans le parc.There are children in the park. (English drops "some", French doesn't)
- Une amie, des amies.A (female) friend, some friends. (liaison: day-zah-mee)
- C'est une bonne idée !That's a good idea!
- Les gâteaux sont délicieux.The cakes are delicious. (-eau → -eaux)
- Les journaux sont sur la table.The newspapers are on the table. (-al → -aux)
- Les bus sont en retard.The buses are late. (bus doesn't change; les tells you it's plural)
- J'adore les animaux.I love animals. (general: les · -al → -aux)
- Elle a les yeux bleus.She has blue eyes. (un œil → des yeux)
- Bonjour, mesdames et messieurs !Hello, ladies and gentlemen!
- Les hiboux et les cailloux.Owls and pebbles. (two of the famous seven)
Memory tricks
The cat, a catLe chat = THE cat (you know which one). Un chat = A cat (any cat at all). Same as English, so far so good.
Love it? Use leWhen you love, hate or prefer something, you're talking about all of it: j'aime le café, je déteste les lundis. Feelings take the whole category.
No article in English? Add desIf English says "friends" or "flowers" with nothing in front, French probably wants des.
Les and des are unisexThe gender vanishes in the plural. One less thing to worry about.
The x rhyme"Viens, mon chou, mon bijou, sur mes genoux, et jette des cailloux à ce hibou plein de poux." (Come, my darling, my jewel, onto my knees, and throw pebbles at this owl full of lice.) Add joujou and you have all seven.
The horse grew an xUn cheval, des chevaux. When -al goes plural, it turns into -aux and the sound changes to "oh". You can hear this one.
Monsieur is two words in disguiseMon + sieur (my sir). Plural: mes + sieurs. Same for ma + dame → mes + dames.
Listen for luh or layYour ears can't hear the -s. They can hear le (luh) versus les (lay). Say the article clearly and you'll be understood.
Don’t get French fried
Pick the little word
First the articles, then the plurals. Each answer explains its rule.
J'ai ___ idée !
I have an idea!
Idée is feminine (-ée), so une.
C'est ___ hôtel.
It's a hotel.
Hôtel is masculine. With un or une, the gender always shows, even before a vowel.
___ enfants jouent.
The children are playing.
The children = specific ones = les.
Il y a ___ enfants dans le parc.
There are (some) children in the park.
Some children, not specific ones = des.
J'adore ___ musique.
I love music.
Music in general = the whole category = la.
Je cherche ___ appartement.
I'm looking for an apartment.
Any apartment, one of many = un.
___ appartement de Léa est grand.
Léa's apartment is big.
A specific apartment, before a vowel = l'.
un château → des ___
castles
-eau → -eaux.
un animal → des ___
animals
-al → -aux.
un prix → des ___
prices
Nouns ending in -s, -x or -z don't change.
un jeu → des ___
games
-eu → -eux.
un pneu → des ___
tires
Exception! Pneu and bleu take an -s.
un trou → des ___
holes
Most -ou words take -s. Only seven take -x.
un bijou → des ___
jewels
Bijou is one of the seven -ou words that take -x.
monsieur → ___
gentlemen
Monsieur is 'mon + sieur', so both halves go plural: mes + sieurs.
les amis: the s of les…
Liaison before a vowel: lay-zah-mee.
In speech, how do you hear that les chats is plural?
The -s on the noun is silent. Le (luh) and les (lay) carry the number.
She's a lawyer.
Lesson 4: after il/elle est, a job takes no article.
Cats are cute.
A general statement still needs les.
Score: / 19
The whole lesson on one card
| the | le (masculine) · la (feminine) · l' (before a vowel or silent h) · les (plural, both genders) |
|---|---|
| a, an, some | un (masculine) · une (feminine) · des (plural, both genders) |
| le or un? | le = the specific one, or the whole category: j'aime le café · un = one of many: un café, s'il vous plaît |
| English drops it, French doesn't | Cats are cute → Les chats sont mignons · I have friends → J'ai des amis |
| Plural, most nouns | add a silent -s: un chat → des chats |
| Plural, special endings | -eau, -eu → -x (gâteaux, jeux; but pneus, bleus) · -al → -aux (journaux; but festivals) · -s, -x, -z don't change (bus, prix, nez) |
| The seven -ou + x | bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou · every other -ou takes -s: trous, clous |
| Irregular | un œil → des yeux · monsieur → messieurs · madame → mesdames |
| Hearing plurals | the -s is silent, so listen to the little word: le (luh) / les (lay) · liaison: les‿amis |
Your turn to talk
Look in your own bag or pocket and list what's inside, out loud, with un, une or des before every word. Then say one thing you love in general, with le, la or les.
Did it stick?
A fresh set. Each answer tells you why.
___ voiture
a car
Voiture is feminine (-ure).
___ problème
a problem
Problème is masculine (-ème).
J'aime ___ café.
I like coffee (in general).
Liking something in general = le, la, les.
Je voudrais ___ café, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a coffee
One cup of coffee = un.
Il y a ___ fleurs sur la table.
There are flowers on the table.
Some flowers, not specific ones = des.
un bateau → des ___
boats
-eau → -eaux.
un cheval → des ___
horses
-al → -aux.
un genou → des ___
knees
Genou is one of the seven -ou words that take -x.
un clou → des ___
nails
Clou isn't one of the seven, so it takes -s.
le nez → les ___
noses
Words ending in -z don't change.
madame → ___
ladies
Madame is 'ma + dame', so it becomes mes + dames.
I have friends in Montréal.
English drops 'some'. French needs des.
Score: / 12