Determinants
22 Apr 2026
My understanding is these are actually called “determiners” in English, but I think that sounds clunky and not as pretty, so dammit I’m going to call them determinants on this page. 😤
Articles
Articles are the most common type of determinant. Unlike other determinants which add different types of detail, articles simply introduce a noun - indicating whether it’s specific, unspecific, or partial.
Definite
Definite articles are used for specific or known nouns. They’re the equivalent to the in English.
- le - masculine singular
- la - feminine singular
- l’ - singular before a vowel or silent h
- les - plural
Indefinite
Indefinite articles are used for unspecific or unknown nouns. They’re the equivalent to a, an, or some in English.
- un - masculine singular
- une - feminine singular
- des - plural
Exception: after a negation, des becomes de - Je n’ai pas de chien.
Partitive
Partitive articles are used for uncountable or partial quantities. They’re roughly equivalent to some in English, and have no direct equivalent in many languages.
- du - masculine singular
- de la - feminine singular
- de l’ - singular before a vowel or silent h
- des - plural
Possessive
Possessive determinants indicate ownership. They’re the equivalent to my, your, his, her, our, and their in English.
For the 1ˢᵗ/2ⁿᵈ/3ʳᵈ person singular forms, possessive determinants agree with the gender and number of the possessed noun (ma, mon, mes). For the nᵗʰ person plural forms, they just agree with the number (notre, nos).
- mon, ma, mes - my
- ton, ta, tes - your
- son, sa, ses - his / her / its
- notre, nos - our
- votre, vos - you guys’s
- leur, leurs - their
Note: mon/ton/son are used before feminine nouns starting with a vowel - mon amie.
See also: Possessive Pronouns.
Demonstrative
Demonstrative determinants are used to point to specific nouns. They’re the equivalent to this, that, these, and those in English.
- ce - masculine singular
- cet - masculine singular before a vowel or silent h
- cette - feminine singular
- ces - plural
cet is used before masculine nouns starting with a vowel or silent h - cet homme.
Interrogative
Interrogative determinants are used to ask which or what kind of noun is being referred to. They’re the equivalent to which or what in English.
- quel - masculine singular
- quelle - feminine singular
- quels - masculine plural
- quelles - feminine plural
The same forms are used as exclamatives, to express surprise or admiration about a noun. The distinction comes from context.
See also: Interrogative Pronouns.
Quantifiers
This is a broad catch-all for determinants that express quantity or amount. There are a few different subcategories here - indefinite, negative, totality, distributive - but it isn’t super important to know all the different types. Some examples:
- chaque - each / every
- autre(s) - other
- quelque(s) - some / a few
- plusieurs - several
- aucun(e) - no / not any
- tout / toute / tous / toutes - all / every
Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers used directly before a noun act as determinants.
- deux - two
- dix - ten
- cent - one hundred
- un million - one million
Expressions
A group of quantity expressions formed with a noun or adverb followed by de. Unlike partitive or indefinite articles, the de here does not change with gender or number.
- beaucoup de - a lot of
- peu de - a little / few
- assez de - enough
- trop de - too much / too many
- un tas de - a heap of
- un kilo de - a kilo of