When do I use du, de la, or des in French?

These are the partitive articles, used for an unspecified amount of an uncountable thing. Use 'du' before a masculine noun (du pain, du vin), 'de la' before a feminine noun (de la viande, de la patience), and 'des' for the plural (des frites). Before a vowel or silent h, both 'du' and 'de la' collapse to 'de l'' (de l'eau, de l'huile).

What is the difference between 'je mange du pain' and 'je mange le pain'?

'Je mange du pain' means 'I am eating (some) bread' - an unspecified amount of bread in general. 'Je mange le pain' means 'I am eating THE bread' - a specific loaf the listener already knows about, like the one on the table. Dropping the article entirely ('je mange pain') is always wrong; French requires one or the other.

Why do the French say 'j'aime les chiens' and not 'j'aime des chiens'?

General statements about a whole class of things take the definite article in French, even though English drops it. 'J'aime les chiens' means 'I like dogs' - dogs as a category. 'J'aime des chiens' would mean 'I like some particular dogs', which is rarely what you mean. The same pattern applies to abstract nouns and languages: 'la patience est une vertu', 'j'aime le francais'.

What happens to articles after 'ne... pas' in French?

After a negation, indefinite and partitive articles collapse to plain 'de' (or 'd'' before a vowel). 'J'ai un chien' becomes 'je n'ai pas de chien'; 'je mange du pain' becomes 'je ne mange pas de pain'; 'il a des amis' becomes 'il n'a pas d'amis'. The definite article (le, la, les) does not change, because it still points to a specific thing: 'je ne vois pas le chien'.

When does 'le' or 'la' become 'l'' in French?

'Le' and 'la' both shorten to 'l'' when the next word starts with a vowel sound or a silent h: l'eau, l'homme, l'arbre, l'hotel. The same elision happens to the partitive 'de la' and 'de le', giving 'de l'eau' and 'de l'huile'. Elision is mandatory, not stylistic; 'le eau' or 'la homme' is wrong every time.

Why is it 'au cinema' and not 'a le cinema' in French?

French contracts the prepositions 'a' and 'de' with the masculine and plural definite articles. 'A + le' becomes 'au' (au cinema), 'a + les' becomes 'aux' (aux enfants), 'de + le' becomes 'du' (la maison du voisin), and 'de + les' becomes 'des' (les chambres des enfants). The contractions are mandatory. They only apply to 'le' and 'les'; 'a la' and 'a l'' stay as they are.

French Articles: Definite, Indefinite, Partitive, and the Article English Speakers Drop

The three systems at a glance

Type	Masculine sg	Feminine sg	Plural
Definite	le (l' + vowel)	la (l' + vowel)	les
Indefinite	un	une	des
Partitive	du (de l' vowel)	de la (de l' vw)	des

Each row answers a different question:

Definite: "the X" (the speaker thinks you know which one)
Indefinite: "a / an X" (any one of the class)
Partitive: "some X" (an unspecified amount of an uncountable thing)

The definite article: le, la, les

Use when the noun is specific or general-class.

le livre = the book
la table = the table
les enfants = the children

The plural les is the same for both genders.

The indefinite article: un, une, des

Use when the noun is one (or some) of a class, unspecified.

un livre = a book
une table = a table
des livres = some books / books (English often drops "some" in the plural; French keeps des)

The plural form des is the same for both genders.

The partitive article: du, de la, des

This is the one English speakers consistently miss. The partitive marks an unspecified amount of something uncountable (food, drink, abstract qualities). English usually drops "some" or "any" in the equivalent sentence; French does not.

du pain = (some) bread
du vin = (some) wine
de la viande = (some) meat
de la patience = (some) patience
des frites = (some) chips (technically the plural of "de la / du", interchangeable with indefinite des in most contexts)

Compare:

"Je mange du pain" = I eat / I am eating (some) bread. NEVER "Je mange pain". The partitive is mandatory.
"Je mange le pain" = I eat THE bread (a specific loaf, e.g. the one on the table).
"Je mange un pain" = I eat A (whole) loaf of bread (one specific unit).

Elision: le and la become l' before a vowel sound

When the next word starts with a vowel or a silent h, le / la / de la become l' / de l':

l'eau (the water), l'homme (the man), l'arbre (the tree)
de l'eau (some water), de l'huile (some oil)

This elision is non-optional. "Le eau" is wrong every time. It happens automatically with the definite article and the partitive; with the indefinite (un, une), elision does NOT happen because un and une are themselves the articles - they don't get shortened.

The negation rule: every article becomes 'de'

When you negate a verb that takes a direct object, the article (definite excluded) becomes plain de (or d' before a vowel). This catches everyone.

Affirmative: "J'ai un chien" (I have a dog) -> Negative: "Je n'ai pas de chien"
Affirmative: "Je mange du pain" (I eat bread) -> Negative: "Je ne mange pas de pain"
Affirmative: "Il a des amis" (He has friends) -> Negative: "Il n'a pas **d'**amis"

The definite article (le, la, les) doesn't change in negation:

"Je vois le chien" -> "Je ne vois pas le chien" (the article stays because it points to a specific dog)

Contractions: au and du with prepositions

When the preposition a (to / at) or de (of / from) meets the masculine singular definite article le, they contract:

a + le = au (au cinema = to the cinema)
a + les = aux (aux enfants = to the children)
de + le = du (la maison du voisin = the neighbour's house)
de + les = des (les chambres des enfants = the children's rooms)

Note: this du is preposition + article, the same form as the partitive but a different function. Context disambiguates.

These contractions are mandatory and they only apply to le and les, never to la or l': "Je vais a la plage" (no contraction).

When French uses an article and English doesn't

French is more article-heavy than English. The big patterns to keep articles in:

General statements about a class: "J'aime les chiens" = "I like dogs". When you mean dogs in general, French keeps les.
Abstract nouns: "La patience est une vertu" = "Patience is a virtue".
Days of the week (recurring): "Le lundi je fais du sport" = "On Mondays I do sport". (Single days drop it: "Lundi je pars" = "On Monday I'm leaving".)
Languages: "J'aime le francais" = "I like French".
Body parts (sometimes with possessive replaced): "J'ai mal a la tete" = "I have a headache" (literally "I have pain at the head").
Countries: "la France", "le Japon", "les Etats-Unis". "Je visite la France" = "I'm visiting France".

When French drops the article

After 'de' meaning quantity: "beaucoup de pain" (a lot of bread), "un kilo de pommes" (a kilo of apples). No article after the de.
After 'sans': "sans eau" (without water).
In some set expressions: "avoir faim", "avoir peur", "faire attention".
Profession after 'etre' (no adjective): "Il est medecin" (He is a doctor). With an adjective the article comes back: "Il est un bon medecin".

How to internalise French articles

The definite/indefinite system is mechanical - learn the gender of the noun and the article follows. The partitive is the conceptual shift: any time you're talking about an unspecified amount of something uncountable (eating, drinking, having abstract qualities), you need du / de la / des. English speakers who drop them sound like they're learning - keeping them is what tips you from beginner to intermediate-sounding French.

Practical rule: when in doubt, default to inserting the article. French over-articulates by English standards; if you sound like you're using "too many" articles, you're probably in the right zone.

Frequently asked questions