Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes
Master French contracted articles "au," "aux," "du," and "des," used after prepositions "à" and "de" with singular and plural nouns like "au supermarché" (to the supermarket) and "des fruits" (some fruits). Learn pronunciation and liaison rules essential for everyday conversations.
- When they are used after the prepositions à and de, the articles le and les contract.
- The articles la and l' are never contracted.
| Singulier (Singular) | À + leAu (Singular) | De + leDu (Of) |
| Pluriel (Plural) | À + lesAux (Plural) | De + lesDes (Singular) |
Exceptions!
- With "aux" and "des", the liaison is made with the following word when it begins with a vowel or an "h". Example: "Aux enfants"; "des idées"
- The articles "au" and "aux" are pronounced the same way /o/.
Exercise 1: Les articles contractés : "Au, Aux, Du, Des"
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
du, au, des, aux
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Je vais ___ supermarché pour acheter du pain et des fruits.
(I go ___ supermarket to buy bread and fruit.)2. Elle prend ___ légumes frais au marché chaque jeudi.
(She buys ___ fresh vegetables at the market every Thursday.)3. Nous comparons les prix ___ fromage à la fromagerie.
(We compare the prices ___ cheese at the cheese shop.)4. Le client choisit ___ poissons frais à la poissonnerie.
(The customer chooses ___ fresh fish at the fish shop.)5. Je parle ___ vendeur pour demander où se trouve la boulangerie.
(I speak ___ seller to ask where the bakery is.)6. Ils vont ___ magasins du centre commercial pour faire les courses.
(They go ___ shops of the mall to do the shopping.)
