Which French article? Choose the meaning before le, un or du

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Choose French articles through a café order: a general taste, one serving, an amount or something already known. Includes pictures and four questions.

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In short

Choose le, la, l’, les for a general category or an identifiable thing; un, une, des to introduce countable items; and du, de la, de l’ for an unspecified amount. The same noun can take different articles because your meaning changes.

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A tea cup and bowl of vegetable soup on a small French café table.
Un thé and la soupe du jour suit different references. Illustration: Atelier

How do you choose between le, un and du?

Read the situation first
What you meanFrenchWhat the article does
Coffee is something I like.J’aime le café.Names the category.
I order one serving.Je commande un café.Counts one coffee.
I drink an unspecified amount.Je bois du café.Names an amount.
I drink the coffee you made.Je bois le café que tu as préparé.Identifies this coffee.

You know which coffee you ordered, but your first mention can still be un café. The article introduces it to your listener. Once both of you know which one, le café can refer back.

Au café
  1. Serveuse

    Vous désirez ?

    What would you like?

  2. Client

    Un thé, s’il vous plaît, et une soupe.

    A tea, please, and a soup.

  3. Serveuse

    La soupe du jour est une soupe de légumes.

    The soup of the day is a vegetable soup.

  4. Client

    Très bien. Je prends la soupe du jour.

    Lovely. I’ll have the soup of the day.

Why is it j’aime le café but je prends du café?

Four nouns with useful articles

Two checks before gender

An amount, a quantity and an absence
SituationFrench
Some soupJe prends de la soupe.
A little soupJe prends un peu de soupe.
No soup eatenJe ne mange pas de soupe.
A general dislikeJe n’aime pas la soupe.
Identifying what it isCe n’est pas de la soupe, c’est une sauce.

After un peu, the quantity phrase supplies de. With an ordinary absence, un, une, des and the partitive forms usually become de or d’. A definite article stays: Je n’aime pas le café. After être, the article stays too: Ce n’est pas un café.

Choose, then check

A self-review aid, not a grade. Ticks are not saved.

Question 1No account needed
You like cheese in general. Complete the sentence.J’adore ___ fromage.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le. A general preference uses the definite article: J’adore le fromage.

Question 2No account needed
You introduce one lamp, then refer to that same lamp.J’ai acheté ___ lampe. ___ lampe est sur mon bureau.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

une … la. Une lampe introduces it; la lampe points back to the one just mentioned.

Question 3No account needed
You want a little water.Je voudrais un peu ___eau.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

d’. Un peu de becomes un peu d’ before the vowel in eau.

Question 4No account needed
You identify the drink as tea rather than coffee.Ce n’est pas ___ café, c’est du thé.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

du. The identifying negative with être keeps the partitive: Ce n’est pas du café.

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