All nouns in French have a grammatical gender and are either masculine nouns (e.g. a / the cat >  un / le chat)  or feminine nouns  (e.g. a / the table > une / la table). 

One way to recognise the gender of a noun is by the definite or indefinite article that proceeds the noun. In French, almost all nouns (in 99% of cases) are preceded by an article. Another way to identify a noun as being masculine or feminine is by learning to recognise typical endings of nouns, e.g. -acle, -ace, -ier for masculine and -ade, -ale, -elle for feminine.

We use definite articles to talk about a specific person, animal, object, country, abstract concept etc. by using le/l’ (masculine), la/l’ (feminine) or les (plural).

We use indefinite articles to talk about a random person, animal, object, country, abstract concept etc. by using un (masculine), une (feminine) or des (plural):

Un chat est dans la salle.

A cat is in the room. 

* If a noun starts with a vowel sound or a silent “h”, le or la gets contracted to l’ to avoid a vowel clash:

a hospital / the hospital > un hôpital / l’hôpital

an orange / the orange > une orange / l’orange 

 

Partitive articles: de, du, de la, de l’, and des

Partitive articles are used with nouns to express an undefined amount. They convey a similar meaning to “any” or “some” in English. While du is used before masculine nouns, de la before feminine nouns and de l’ before nouns starting with a vowel or silent h (regardless of gender or number), and des is used when referring to an uncountable amount of a plural noun. Please note that de or d’ is used in negative sentences:

I like eating bread for breakfast. > J’aime manger du pain au petit déjeuner.

She doesn’t eat (any) meat. She’s vegan. > Elle ne mange pas de viande. Elle est végane.