Exam Tips & Common Errors

Part of Gender and articles: le, la, un, une, du · Section 6 of 6

Exam TipsUnit: Core Grammar ToolkitGCSE

This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within Gender and articles: le, la, un, une, du for GCSE French. Revise Gender and articles: le, la, un, une, du in Core Grammar Toolkit for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 6 of 6 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.

💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors

  • In AQA writing tasks, every noun you introduce must have the correct article — examiners deduct under AO2 (knowledge of grammar) for wrong or missing articles.
  • When writing about food or drink, always ask: is this a specific item (definite) or an unspecified quantity (partitive)? "I love bread" = j'aime le pain; "I'm eating bread" = je mange du pain.
  • The negative → de rule is tested almost every year in the AQA controlled writing. Learn it as a reflex: if there is ne…pas, change du/de la/des/un/une to de.
  • Do not try to guess a noun's gender from how it sounds — French has no reliable rule. Build a vocabulary list that always includes the article.
  • Words ending in -ion, -té, -ure, -ette are often (not always) feminine; words ending in -ment, -age, -eau are often masculine — use these as hints, not guarantees.

❌ Common error: Je mange de la pain avec du beurre.

✓ Correct: Je mange du pain avec du beurre.

Why it costs marks: pain is masculine — the partitive for a masculine noun is du (de + le), not de la. Using the wrong gender article loses an AO2 mark and signals to the examiner that the learner has not memorised the gender of a core vocabulary item.

❌ Common error: Je vais à le cinéma.

✓ Correct: Je vais au cinéma.

Why it costs marks: à + le must contract to au — writing à le is a grammatical impossibility in French and will always attract an AO2 error mark.

Practice questions for Gender and articles: le, la, un, une, du

Which definite article do you use with a masculine singular noun in French?

  • A. le
  • B. la
  • C. les
  • D. un
1 markfoundation

Which form of the definite article is used before a noun beginning with a vowel, such as 'école'?

  • A. le
  • B. la
  • C. l'
  • D. les
1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

au (= a + le)
to the / at the (masculine) -- je vais au marche (I go to the market). This contraction is MANDATORY; you cannot say 'a le'.
de l'
some / of the (before vowel or silent h) -- de l'eau (some water), de l'argent (some money), pres de l'hopital (near the hospital).

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