#byluneathe - articles
fair knoll
versed prism
hi, first of, let's split those into different categories
le/la/les (definite articles)
un/une/des (indefinite articles)
du/de la (partitive articles)
@hearty ledge let's just take a look at the first row for now.
"le" "la" and "les" all usually mean "the"
but do you know the difference between those 3?
hearty ledge
uh le is msg, la is fsg, les is pl
hearty ledge
when the le comes before a word beginning with a vowel
versed prism
yup, le or la. both become l' (some h also count as vowels for that purpose)
the same distinction applies to un/une/des
un is for singular masc
une is for singular fem
des is for plural
although this is a different type of article
do you know when to use definite (le/la/les) vs indefinite articles (un/une/des) ?
hearty ledge
no actually im not quite sure
i only know le is for "the" and un is for "a"
if i were to make a guess i would say le is for something already mentioned and can be referred back to?
versed prism
yes so "the" is actually the definite article in English
and a/an/some are indefinite articles in English
this is very much the same concept
with definite articles (le/la/les), you're talking about something specific. Either it was previously mentioned, you're stating which one(s) you're talking about, or it is known from context
with indefinite articles (un/une/des), it could be any instance of that noun, it doesn't matter
hearty ledge
oke
versed prism
je parle à la dame (I'm talking with the lady, I'm referring to someone specific)
je parle à une dame (I'm talking with a lady, it could be any lady doesn't matter)
note that the a/an distinction doesn't exist in French. "un" vs "une" is a question of gender
hearty ledge
okay
versed prism
the one often stumbling English speakers is "des". It is very much just the plural of un/une
the thing to be careful of is that in English, you usually don't use any article, but you have to use "des" in French
I heard cats => j'ai entendu des chats (could be any cats doesn't matter)
(you could also say "I heard some cats")
hearty ledge
okay
so for like "some" you use du/de/des?
Bonjour Madame Ognon !
Je suis en vacances chez des amis en France. Ils préparent ____________une (1) grande tarte aux fraises pour fêter mon anniversaire.
Dans cette tarte, il y a ____________du(2) crème, ____________des(3) fraises et ____________du(4) sucre… mais il n’y a pas ____________de(5) chocolat. C’est délicieux, mais je préfère ____________un(6) gâteau au chocolat. Quand je passe devant une pâtisserie, j’achète toujours ____________un(7) petit gâteau au chocolat.
Et vous, est-ce que vous aimez ____________les(8) gâteaux au chocolat ?
this is the model answer i was given for a practice. why isn't "des" accepted for 8?
versed prism
right, so this is a sneaky case
I wanted to make sure you got the main use case first
there is a case where English and French don't work the same
when you're talking about something in general, as a concept
In English, you would not use any article
ex: I like red / I like cats
In French, you have to use definite articles (le/la/les)
ex: j'aime le rouge / j'aime les chats
hearty ledge
also another question: do you place habitual verbs like souvent/toujours before or after verb?
versed prism
here, you're not talking about specific or unspecific cats.
You're talking about cats in general
hearty ledge
the thing to be careful of is that in English, you usually don't use any article...
but these are also cats in general?
versed prism
also another question: do you place habitual verbs like souvent/toujours before ...
generally directly after the verb
versed prism
but these are also cats in general?
no, because you're talking about [some] cats. You don't know which cats, but still you only heard a couple of them
hearty ledge
uhh im not sure i understand 😭
versed prism
okay, can you theorically count them in the sentence?
hearty ledge
uhh no
versed prism
j'ai entendu des chats / I heard cats (you heard a number of cats, you might not know how many but there's a number for them)
j'aime les chats / I like cats (you like cats in general, there's no number of cats you like)
hearty ledge
wait so if i place it back into the sentence i gave you
is it that like because im asking if the person likes cakes IN GENERAL, the answer was "les"?
versed prism
exactly
hearty ledge
and not "des" because it was not some cakes, it was like all cakes in general?
versed prism
that's it, you got it
hearty ledge
alright! merci beaucoup
versed prism
that's the hard part about le/la/les vs un/une/des
because while it often translates to the vs a/an/some, the "in general" case doesn't fit the mold
hearty ledge
ooh okay cool i've got it now XD
versed prism
do you wanna go over du/de la?
versed prism
it is for uncountable nouns yes
du for masculine (du is the mandatory contraction of de + le)
de la for feminine nouns
hearty ledge
En réalité, beaucoup de jeunes ne boivent pas d’4 alcool parce qu’ils veulent rester en bonne santé.
is this correct as ne boivent pas shows negation?
versed prism
that is correct! yet another nice catch
if you're negating a noun, you don't use an article but "de"
hearty ledge
Pour être en bonne santé, ils préfèrent boire de l'eau OR boire d'eau?
some water so d'eau>
?
im not sure hahaha
versed prism
is "eau" countable?
versed prism
you have to use a partitive article here
"de l' " (because eau starts with a vowel)
the case where you wouldn't use l' is if you're negating the sentence
"ils préfèrent boire de l'eau"
"ils préfèrent ne pas boire d'eau"
versed prism
yes, uncountables use du/de la/de l'
and negations use de/d' because they're weird
hearty ledge
yes totally because they're weird 😂
versed prism
you're going through all the cases here 
surely not going through exercises for an upcoming exam (you're doing great)
hearty ledge
im literally doing a practice paper while typing here and reading your guides LOL
hearty ledge
surely not going through exercises for an upcoming exam (you're doing great)
thank you!!
it's 2:43 am btw
☠️
mourir
hearty ledge
eh im gonna do the paper and ask if i have any questions HAHAH thanks!!