In French, you almost always use an article or short adjective before a noun or noun phrase. These words translate as the, a/an, some, this, that, these, those, which, what, my, your, his, her, and so on.
The following tables show these common little words in all their forms — masculine and feminine, singular and plural, before a consonant and before a vowel or mute h, and sometimes in various grammatical persons. Definite articles refer to something specific, indefinite articles refer to something unspecific, and partitive articles refer to a part of something. Demonstrative adjectives differentiate and compare things, interrogative adjectives ask for information, and possessive adjectives identify the owner of something.
| Gender and Number | Definite Articles (the) | Indefinite Articles (a/an, some) | Partitive Articles (some) | Demonstrative Adj. (this/that, these/those) | Interrogative Adj. (which/what) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. singular | le, l’ (before vowel or mute h) | un | du, de l’ (before vowel or mute h) | ce, cet (before vowel or mute h) | quel |
| Fem. singular | la, l’ (before vowel or mute h) | une | de la, de l’ (before vowel or mute h) | cette | quelle |
| Plural | les | des | des | ces | quels (masc.), quelles (fem.) |
| Meaning | Singular Masc. Object | Singular Fem. Object | Plural Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | mon | ma, mon (before vowel or mute h) | mes |
| your (singular familiar) | ton | ta, ton (before vowel or mute h) | tes |
| his/her | son | sa, son (before vowel or mute h) | ses |
| our | notre | notre | nos |
| your (plural or singular formal) | votre | votre | vos |
| their | leur | leur | leurs |