96 - Definite, Indefinite, or Partitive Articles?

Hello everyone! Bonjour à tous! 💖 Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 96, numéro 96!

In this episode, we'll talk about the difference between definite, indefinite, and partitive articles. And to give you an example not using grammar jargon, we'll talk about the difference between "un gâteau" (a cake), "le gâteau" (the cake), and "du gâteau" (some cake).

So really, this episode is about the main differences between definite, indefinite, and partitive articles, as they are not interchangeable. If you have no idea what they are, it's ok, but then you need to dive a bit deeper and check out episodes 11, 12, and 28 before listening to this lesson.

Definite Article (le, la, l’, les)

French definite articles are the equivalent of "the" in English. For recap, they are "le," "la," "l'," and "les."

We use definite articles to indicate something or someone specific or already identified (already identified in context or in the actual sentence.)

For example:

"I'm eating the cake that was in the fridge." = Je mange le gâteau qui était dans le frigo.

→ I'm not talking about eating any cake; I'm talking about eating the particular cake that was in the fridge. The cake is specific and identified. That's why we use a definite article.

Indefinite Article (un, une, des)

French indefinite articles are the equivalent of "a/an" or "some" in the plural in English. For recap', they are "un," "une," and "des."

We use indefinite articles to indicate something or someone non-specific or non-identified yet.

For example: 

"I'm eating a cake." = Je mange un gâteau. 

→ I'm talking about eating a cake. I don't specify what particular cake I'm eating, it might be the one from the fridge, but it might not be. It's not specific and hasn't been identified yet. That's why we use an indefinite article.

Partitive Article (du, d’, de la, des)

French partitive articles are the equivalent of "some" or even "any" in English. 

Although attention, "some" and "any" are often omitted in English, the French equivalent cannot be omitted 99% of the time. 

We use partitive articles to indicate a portion of something or a quantity that cannot be counted.

For example: 

"I'm eating [some] cake." = Je mange du gâteau.

→ I'm talking about eating only a portion of the cake, not the whole cake. I'm not telling you specifically the quantity of cake I'm eating.

So there you go, that's the difference between the definite, indefinite, and partitive articles! 

Recap': 

French definite articles are the equivalent of "the" in English. They indicate something or someone [a noun] specific or already identified. -> "Je mange le gâteau qui était dans le frigo."French indefinite articles are the equivalent of "a/an" or "some" in the plural in English. They indicate something or someone [a noun] non-specific or non-identified yet. -> "Je mange un gâteau."French partitive articles are the equivalent of "some" in English. They indicate a portion of something or a quantity that cannot be counted. -> "Je mange du gâteau."

Et voilà! That's the end of today's episode. I'll chat with you in the next lesson, where we'll learn expressions of quantities for when you don't want to use the partitive article and want to be a little more specific than just saying "some." 

Thanks so much for listening. xx

À bientôt.