le/la/les, un/une/des, contractions, and partitives.

• leDefinite article 'the' for masculine singular nouns.le livre = the book
• laDefinite article 'the' for feminine singular nouns.la table = the table
• l'Definite article 'the' used before a vowel or silent h (masc or fem).l'arbre = the tree; l'heure = the hour
• lesDefinite article 'the' for all plural nouns (masc and fem).les enfants = the children
• unIndefinite article 'a/an' for masculine singular nouns.un chien = a dog
• uneIndefinite article 'a/an' for feminine singular nouns.une maison = a house
• desIndefinite plural article 'some/any', the plural of un/une.des pommes = some apples
• Gender hint: nouns ending in -eMost nouns ending in -e are feminine (with common exceptions like le musée).la voiture = the car; la porte = the door
• Gender hint: nouns ending in -ion / -téNouns ending in -ion or -té are almost always feminine.la nation = the nation; la liberté = the freedom
• de + le → duContraction: de combines with le to form du ('of the / from the').le livre du professeur = the teacher's book
• de + les → desContraction: de combines with les to form des ('of the / from the', plural).la fin des vacances = the end of the holidays
• à + le → auContraction: à combines with le to form au ('to the / at the').Je parle au professeur = I speak to the teacher
• à + les → auxContraction: à combines with les to form aux ('to the / at the', plural).Je parle aux étudiants = I speak to the students
• du (partitive)Partitive 'some/any' before a masculine singular noun.du pain = some bread
• de la (partitive)Partitive 'some/any' before a feminine singular noun.de la viande = some meat
• de l' (partitive)Partitive 'some/any' before a noun starting with a vowel or silent h.de l'eau = some water
• des (partitive)Partitive 'some/any' before a plural noun.des fruits = some fruit
• Partitive in the negative → de / d'After a negative, partitive and indefinite articles become de (d' before a vowel).Je ne mange pas de pain = I don't eat any bread