GRAMMAIRE FOR ALL
These notes provide clear explanations of
basic grammatical structures and give a wide
scope for practicing. Numerous exercises on
each grammatical point are covered.
The vocabulary used is based on the
requirement of the Basic Education and West
African Senior Schools Certificate Examination
Syllabus. It increases the student’s accuracy in
both written and spoken French.
CONTENTS
UNIT 1
1:0 Articles
1:1 The Definite Article
1:2 the Indefinite Article
1:3 à (to, at, in).
2:0 The Partitive Articles (du/de la/ de l’/
des)
2:1 Use of De, d’
2:2 “De” indicating Possession
UNIT 1
ARTICLES
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
There are three words for the English the in
French:
le – used before a masculine singular noun
la – used before a feminine singular noun
l’ – used before a noun beginning with a vowel
(a, e, i, o, u – or before a silent h)
les – used before all plural nouns
EXAMPLE:
le garçon the boy
la fille the girl
l’enfant the child
l’homme the man
les parents the parents
NOTE:
All nouns in French are either masculine or
feminine. It would be a good idea to learn the
gender with each new word you come across.
Example: You say “le camion”, not just
“camion”. (lorry)
More examples: le lait the
milk
la pomme the
apple
EXAMPLE CONT.……..
le, la, l’ and les mean “the” using the
Definite Article
Before a Masc/Fem.
Masc/Sing Fem/Sing vawel/”h” Plural
le la l’ les
1. If you want to translate English “the”, you will
need to use le/ la/ l’/or les in French depending
on the gender and number of the noun.
EXAMPLE CONT.……..
2. These articles are used loads more in French
than “the” is used in English.
EX: Les chats détestent les araignées - Cats hate
spiders
3. The prepositions “à” or “de” combine with the
definite article as shown below:
EXAMPLE CONT.……..
Masc/ Fem/ B4 a Masc/
Sing. Sing vowel/”h” Fem.Plu.
au à la à l’ les
à
du De de l’ des
la
d
e
EXERCICE
Écrivez: le/ la/ l’/ les devant les noms suivants:
EXAMPLE:
1. père 11. chien
2. mère 12. chats
3. fille 13. poisson rouge
4. fils 14. oiseau
5. souer 15. lapin
6. cousin 16. animal
7. oncle 17. souris
8. tante 18. éléphan
9. enfants 19. lion
10. enfant 20. parents
THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
Masc/Sing Fem/Sing M/F Plural
un une des
There are two ways of saying a/an in French.
Un is used before a masculine singular noun
Une is used before a feminine singular noun
Des is used before masculine/feminine plural
nouns.
NOTE:
The indefinite article,”une” is never
shortened, even before a vowel or a silent
h
A noun used indefinitely in the plural
takes des
The indefinite article is left out when you
are talking about people’s
profession/occupation
EXAMPLE: il est professeur de
Français
MORE EXAMPLES:
1. un fils a son
2. une fille a daughter
3. un enfant a child (boy)
4. une enfant a child (girl)
5. des parents parents
6. un cahier a copy book
EXERCICE 2
Écrivez: un/une/des devant les noms suivants:
Example: “stylo “ - un stylo
1. discothèque 11. immeuble
2. église 12. cuisine
3. école 13. salon
4. musée 14. sale de bains
5. maison 15. cave
6. supermarché 16. grenier
7. lycée 17. chambre
8. pont 18. sale à manger
9. feu rouge 19. jardin
10. étage 20. appartement
NOTE:
There are some occasions where French uses an
article but where English does not.
1. With parts of the body
EXAMPLE: Je me brosse les cheveux I brush
my hair
Je me suis cassé le bras. I broke
my arm
2. Names of languages
EXAMPLE:
l’irlandais Irish
l’anglais English
le français French
l’allemand German
3.Names of games:
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE: CONT….
le hockey hockey
le tennis tennjs
le football football
le basket basketball
4.Names of countries
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE: CONT….
La France France
L’Irlande Ireland
Le Portugal Portugal
L’Allemagne Germany
Les Etats-Unis United States of America
5. Names of school subjects
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE: CONT….
Le desin Art
La biologie Biology
L’éducation Physique Physical and Health Education
Les maths Mathematics
Le français French
6. Prices:
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE: CONT….
1. Ces pommes de terre coûtent 20 francs le kilo
- These apples cost 20 francs per kilo
2. Ces poires coûtent 5 francs les 500 grammes
- These pears cost 5 francs per 500 grammes.
Ces oeufs coûtent 12 francs la douzaine.- These
eggs cost 12 francs per dozen.
7. Speed:
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE: CONT….
1. Le camion roule à 800 km. à l’heure - The lorry is
running at 800 km an hour.
8. Frequency:
EXAMPLE: Fatou joue au football trois fois la
semaine. – Fattu plays football three times a week.
NOTE: The article is not used in French with a
person’s profession
EXAMPLE:
1. Il est professeur de Français - He is a teacher of
French
2. Elle est infirmière à Cottage - She is a nurse at
Cottage
