The singular form

A noun is a word for a person or a thing, eg Amélie, a book, school, food. All nouns in French are either masculine or feminine.

The articles le, la, l', les mean 'the' and un, une mean 'a' or 'an'. They also have to agree with the gender of the noun.

In the singular form (referring to one thing or person), use the articles:

• le or un for masculine words, eg le garçon, un garçon (the boy, a boy).
• la or une for feminine words, eg la fille, une fille (the girl, a girl).