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Article indéfini
The aptly named indefinite article indicates an unspecific or unidentified noun.
Par exemple…
| Je vois un chat et un chien. | I see a cat and a dog. | |
| Achète des oignons. | Buy some onions. |
Characteristics of indefinite articles
- Used with countable nouns*
- Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
- Agree with the noun in number and sometimes gender
* As opposed to uncountable nouns like money and water, which take the partitive article.
French indefinite articles
| Masculine | Feminine | ||
| a, an, one | un | une | |
| some | des | des |
+ There are two singular articles, each of which can mean a, an, or one:
- Masculine: un
- Feminine: une
+ There is only one plural indefinite article: des.
Using indefinite articles
You can use indefinite articles in front of unnamed, unidentified, or unspecified nouns, as long as they are countable.
Par exemple…
| Il y a un problème. | There’s a problem. (What problem?) | |
| Un touriste a été blessé. | A tourist was wounded. (Who?) |
The nouns may be modified by
1) adjectives
| J’ai une bonne idée. | I have a good idea. | |
| C’est un pays extraordinaire. | It’s an extraordinary country. |
2) noun phrases
| Je cherche des livres de cuisine. | I’m looking for (some) cookbooks. | |
| Voici une photo de notre fils. | Here’s a picture of our son. |
3) relative clauses
| Je veux un chien quí n’aboie pas trop. | I want a dog that doesn’t bark too much. | |
| C’est une journée dont on se souviendra. | It’s a day we’ll remember. |
The indefinite article is not used when talking about a person’s profession, religion, or any other defining noun in the following construction:
Noun / Name / Subject pronoun + être + profession / religion / noun
Par exemple…
| Ma sœur est avocate. | My sister is a lawyer. | |
| Marc est musulman. | Marc is a Muslim. | |
| Ils sont cousins. | They are cousins. |
In certain constructions, the indefinite reverts to simply de (or its contraction d’).
With negation
| Je ne veux pas de chien. | I don’t want a dog. | |
| N’achète pas d’oignon. | Don’t buy any onions. |
After expressions of quantity
| J’ai vu beaucoup de chats. | I saw a lot of cats. | |
| Il a très peu d’idées. | He has very few ideas. |
After avoir envie and avoir besoin (plural only)
| J’ai envie de tomates. | I want some tomatoes. | |
| As-tu besoin d’idées ? | Do you need some ideas? | |
| But: J’ai besoin d’un stylo. | I need a pen. |
When an adjective precedes the noun (plural only)
| J’ai reçu de beaux cadeaux. | I received some beautiful gifts. | |
| Il a écrit d’autres livres. | He has written other books. | |
| But: Tu as un joli chien. | You have a pretty dog. |
Related lessons
- Introduction to articles
- Article comparison
- Negative adverbs
- Negative de
- Numbers
- Relative pronouns
- De vs du, de la, des
- Un vs l’un
En español
In italiano
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