Gap-fill
Un, une, des: describe a new flat in French
Introduce furniture with un, une and des in a moving-in story. Practise noun gender, plural articles and de after an ordinary negative.
- A1
- 8 gaps
- Translation included
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In short
Use un with a masculine singular noun, une with a feminine singular noun and des with plural nouns of either gender. They introduce “a/an” or “some”: un lit, une table, des chaises. English often leaves “some” out; French keeps des in these ordinary affirmative sentences.
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| Meaning | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| a bed / beds | un lit | des lits |
| a table / tables | une table | des tables |
| a cupboard / cupboards | un placard | des placards |
| a chair / chairs | une chaise | des chaises |
Unlike English “a/an”, the French choice follows gender: un appartement, une armoire. Both begin with a vowel, yet keep their articles in full. Introduce a piece of furniture with un/une, then refer back with le/la: Il y a une table. La table est ronde.
What goes in the flat?
Find:
Fill the moving-in story
Choose from un, une, des, de, d’ and la. A first mention introduces furniture. A later mention points back to the same item. For ordinary absence after ne … pas, use de/d’. After être, keep the article in an identification such as Ce n’est pas une chambre.
Notre nouvel appartement
Nous visitons notre nouvel appartement. Dans la chambre, il y a (a, masculine) lit et (a, feminine) armoire. Dans le salon, nous trouvons (a, feminine) table. (the, feminine; start with a capital) table est près de la fenêtre.
Nous avons aussi (some, plural) chaises. Il n’y a pas (ordinary absence) balcon et il n’y a pas (ordinary absence before a vowel)ascenseur dans l’immeuble. Je montre une petite pièce à Nora. Elle demande : « C’est une chambre ? » Je réponds : « Non, ce n’est pas (a, feminine, after être) chambre. C’est la cuisine ! »
Read it in English
We visit our new flat. In the bedroom, there is a bed and a wardrobe. In the living room, we find a table. The table is near the window.
We also have some chairs. There is no balcony and there is no lift in the building. I show Nora a small room. She asks, “Is it a bedroom?” I reply, “No, it isn’t a bedroom. It’s the kitchen!”
When do you use un, une or des?
- Nora
J’ai acheté une chaise pour ton bureau.
I bought a chair for your office.
- Malik
Merci ! La chaise est confortable ?
Thank you! Is the chair comfortable?
Nora knows which chair she bought. Une simply introduces it to Malik. His la chaise refers back to that same chair. Also recognise a different des in la porte des bureaux: there it combines de + les and means “of the offices”.