Plurals of the and a = les and des (articles) in French

In French, the definite article "the" and the indefinite article "a" have a plural form. 

Learn about les and des in French

Look at these examples:

La voiture est devant les voitures.The car is in front of the cars.

Le chien joue avec les chiens.The dog is playing with the dogs.

Où est l'hôtel ?  - Avec les autres hôtelsWhere is the hotel?  - With the other hotels.

Il y a un chat.  - Non il y a des chats.There is a cat.  - No there are (some) cats.

Une fille se promène avec des filles.A girl walks with (some) girls.

 

The plural forms of le, la and l' is les.

The plural forms of un and une is des.

 

Note that when you say ''I have strawberries." in English, you are actually saying "I have some strawberries.", but in English, you can omit 'some'. 

NOT in French!

In French you must always use "des".
E.g. J'ai des fraises. 

See also Du/de la/de l'/des = Some/any (French Partitive Articles)

 

Grammar jargon: Les is the plural definite article; Des is the plural indefinite article. These articles are used with countable nouns (things you can count, like dogs, as opposed to mass nouns for things like milk which use partitive articles instead.)

Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Examples and resources

le, la, l' -> les


La voiture est devant les voitures.The car is in front of the cars.
Le chien joue avec les chiens.The dog is playing with the dogs.
Où est l'hôtel ?  - Avec les autres hôtelsWhere is the hotel?  - With the other hotels.

un, une -> des


Une fille se promène avec des filles.A girl walks with (some) girls.
Il y a un chat.  - Non il y a des chats.There is a cat.  - No there are (some) cats.
Getting that for you now...