When is "le" omitted from "le français"?

HarryC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

When is "le" omitted from "le français"?

When is "le" omitted from "le français"? Is it only with "parler", or is there a general rule? I ask in relation to this Q&A:

"He will study either French or Italian" = "Il étudiera soit le français soit l'italien".

This question relates to:French lesson "French"
Asked 2 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Harry,

Both are possible and I suppose the difference would be between

'to speak French'

and 

'to speak the French language'

but you will hear both.

Bonne Continuation !

JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Harry,

I also find this point tricky to deal with. Key is the usage as a noun or adjective?

I suggest that you have a look here to assess the various options:-

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/Fran%C3%A7ais

Hope you will find it helpful

Jim

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Jim is right: when used as a noun, you add the article. If it's an adjective, you leave it out:

"Je parle le français" vs. "je parle français". Confusingly enough, both mean "I speak French" but the first one refers to French as a noun, whereas the second one uses "français" as an adjective. Here is a sentence that makes it more obvious:

Le français est une langue parlé en France. -- French is a language spoken in France. (used as a noun)
Les français parlent français. -- The French speak French. (used as an adjective)

Pierre est français. -- Pierre is French (used as an adjective)
Il est le français que j'ai rencontré hier. -- He is the "Frenchman" whom I met yesterday. In this sentence, "français" refers to a male French person and not the language, of course.

JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

@ Chris

Not sure to use "le français" after the verb parler though  --  Je parle le français ?

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Yes, I've heard "je parle le français".

When is "le" omitted from "le français"?

When is "le" omitted from "le français"? Is it only with "parler", or is there a general rule? I ask in relation to this Q&A:

"He will study either French or Italian" = "Il étudiera soit le français soit l'italien".

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