1. Grammar
  2. French
  3. Article
  4. Article contracté (Contracted Article)
Article contracté (Contracted Article)
Forms and Formation of the Contracted Article

The contracted article in French is formed by merging the preposition à or de with the masculine singular definite article le or the preposition à, de or en with the plural definite article les.

Singular Plural
Masculine

à + le = au

de + le = du

à + les = aux

de + les = des

en + les = ès
Feminine -
If the prepositions noted above are used with the feminine singular definite article la or the elided form of the masculine or feminine singular definite article l', no contraction occurs: à + la = à la, à + l' = à l'.
Use of the Contracted Article in French

  1. The contracted article is formed by merging the preposition de with the article le or les, preserving the preposition’s meaning:

    L’ordinateur du [de+le] professeur. – The teacher’s computer.
    Les romans des [de+les] écrivains. – Writers’ novels.

  2. The contracted article is formed by merging the preposition à with the article le or les, preserving the preposition’s meaning:

    Elle a parlé au [à+le] mari. – She talked to her husband.
    J’écris aux [à+les] étudiants de notre collège. – I am writing to the students of our college.

  3. The contracted article is formed by merging the preposition en with the article les (this form is used mostly in names of academic degrees):

    docteur ès [en+les] sciences – Doctor of Science
Notes

The contracted article should be distinguished from the partitive article (article partitif). Compare the following sentences:

J'ai mangé du pain. – I have eaten some bread. - partitive article
L'arôme du [de+le] pain. – The smell of bread. - contracted article