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The French versions of a / an / the / some and any

You don't have to remember most grammatical terms in my opinion, but you need to be aware that there are different types of words. There are three types of 'articles'. The definite article means "the", the indefinite article means "a / an" and the partitive (expressing a part of something) can mean "some / any".
Remember that the words le and la contract to l' only to make speech flow better. You don't have to think about whether the next word starts with a vowel or mute h etc. but there are exceptions with a few words starting with h because h used to be pronounced a long time ago with some words.
So, l'hôpital is easier to say than le + hôpital, le chien is easier to say than using l' but le haricot is an exception.
In French, I had some confusion over using de with these articles so I will start with that after I briefly summarize the contractions:

à + le = au / à l'
à + la = à la / à l'
à + les = aux
so "to the cinema" = au cinema
BUT "to the hospital" is à l'hôpital because this flows better than au in speech

de + le = du / de l'
de + la = de la / de l'
de + les = des
so "from the cinema" is du cinema
BUT "from the hospital" is de l'hôpital because this flows better than du in speech

Some / any (the partitive article)

This can be confusing because you use le / la / les in a positive sentence and de in a negative one. I want to explain this first. You use this when you mean a part of something and not all of something. It can translate as 'some' or 'any' but not always:

Positive sentences use de + le / la / les:
Avez-vous du pain = have you any bread? (you use de because you don't mean all the bread in the world)
Vous prenez du sucre? = Do you take sugar? (some sugar, not all of it)
Elle a acheté de la margarine = She has bought some margarine

Exceptions...
don't use des before an adjective:
Il y a de belles femmes = there are some beautiful women
also there are some adjective + noun combinations that are seen as one thing so use des
des grandes vacances = summer holidays

Negative sentences use de :
Use 'de' for any type of word, be it singular, masculine, feminine or plural:
Vous n'avez pas d'argent? = Have you no money?
Je n'ai pas de frères ou de sœurs = I haven't any brothers or sisters
I have seen something like je n'ai jamais eu une moto comme celle-là = I've never had a motorbike like it.

but "ne ... que" mean "only" so you use le / la / les:
Je ne bois que du thé = I only dring tea
Il n'a que des problèmes avec son ordinateur = He has nothing but trouble with his computer

A / an (the indefinite article)

I want to explain this next because it can get confused with the above. The French indefinite articles (the French equivalent of a / an) are un / une or des. Des looks exactly like a contraction of de + les but it is not in this usage.

With positive sentences:
un is used with masculine words
une is used with feminine words
des is used with plural words

Apportez-moi un verre d'eau, s'il vous plaît = Bring me a glass of water, please
Notice you say un verre d'eau or une tasse de thé. A teacup is une tasse à thé, here à means to contain, intended for because the noun is used like an adjective. Un pot à café = a coffee pot, un pot de café = a pot of coffee, une boîte aux lettres = a letter box

In negative sentences you use de / d' with a singular or plural word which is where the confusion may arise from above. Basically, if you are saying I don't have a brother, you are saying you don't have any brothers. It doesn't matter if you don't have one or a hundred of them:
Je n'ai pas de frères = I don't have any brothers
Je n'ai pas de livre = I don't have a book

It is used like English e.g. J'ai un frère = I have a brother (in French, 'a' or 'an' translates as 'one' - if you have a brother, then you have one brother)

Exceptions:
Don't use it with professions because a profession acts like an adjective:
Je suis masseur
although you use it with c'est / ce sont:
C'est un professeur = He / she is a teacher
Ce sont des plombiers = They are plumbers

avec = with / sans = without
You may have noticed that you miss out 'the' only with nouns:
avec respect = with respect
but you use un / une before an adjective and noun, no matter if the adjective comes before or after:
sans la moindre difficulté = without any difficulty
also: faire oublier avec le temps = to live down

'The' (the definite article)

The French equivalent of 'the' is:
le with a masculine thing
la with a feminine thing
les with a plural thing

You see nouns are rarely used on their own (you can say it on it's own with avec and sans e.g. avec plaisir = with pleasure) but there are times when you do use it with avec / sans e.g. faire oublier avec le temps = to live down.
You can start a sentence in English with a noun like "flowers are lovely" or "I like flowers" but not in French. You have to use le / la / les in front of the word.
These words are generally used like in English and they are used in negative sentences without change unlike the words mentioned above. They also imply 'everything' or 'in general' or 'all':
J'aime la bière = I like beer (in general)
Je n'aime pas la bière = I don't like beer (in general)
je n'aime pas le café = I don't like (all) coffee
BUT vous prenez du café? = Do you take / drink coffee? - here you mean 'some' and not all the coffee in the world

Remember what I mentioned under "partitive article":
Avez-vous du pain = have you any bread? (you use de because you don't mean all the bread in the world)
Vous prenez du sucre? = Do you take sugar? (some sugar, not all of it)
Elle a acheté de la margarine = She has bought some margarine

They are used with countries like La France but not with en e.g. Je vais en France = I'm going to France

They are used with parts of the body or with a reflexive verb because it is clear in French who owns the thing.
(part of body) levez la jambre = lift your leg
(part of body) tournez la tête à gauche = turn your head to the left
(a reflexive verb) Je me lave les mains = I'm washing my hands (since "I'm washing myself = je me lave" shows that it is your hands that are being washed)

They are also used to say "a / per / by"
10 euros le mètre = 10 euros a metre
10 euros le kilo = 10 euros a kilo
10 euros la bouteille = 10 euros a bottle
faire du patin à 30 km à l'heure = to skate at 30km
payé au jour = paid by the hour

You use it with languages except with 'parler'
j'apprends le français = I'm learning French
Je parle français = I speak French

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[FRANÇAIS]

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