"Le" is used before masculine singular nouns, while "la" is used before feminine singular nouns. For example:
* Le livre (The book)
* La pomme (The apple)
Here are some specific rules about when to use "le" or "la":
- With masculine singular nouns:
- "Le" is used before all masculine singular nouns, regardless of whether they start with a vowel or a consonant. For example:
- Le livre (the book)
- Le stylo (the pen)
- Le chat (the cat)
- With feminine singular nouns:
- "La" is used before most feminine singular nouns, regardless of whether they start with a vowel or a consonant. For example:
- La pomme (the apple)
- La table (the table)
- La chaise (the chair)
- "L'" is used before feminine singular nouns that start with a vowel to avoid hiatus, which is when two vowels come together in a word and create an unpleasant sound. For example:
- L'amie (the friend)
- L'université (the university)
- L'eau (the water)
- With plural nouns:
- "Les" is used before all plural nouns, regardless of whether they start with a vowel or a consonant. For example:
- Les livres (the books)
- Les stylos (the pens)
- Les chats (the cats)
- With the partitive article "du," "de la," and "des":
- "Du" is used before masculine singular nouns
- "De la" is used before feminine singular nouns
- "Des" is used before plural nouns
For example:
- un verre du vin (a glass of wine)
- une tasse de la thé (a cup of tea)
- des croissants des chocolat (chocolate croissants)