French Zero Article
See also: Article and Article Types
The "zero article" is the classification for phantom articles, when nouns are used with no article at all.
In English, the zero article is extremely common:
- I love [*] beer.
- Let's talk about [*] politics.
In French, definite articles are required in these sentences:
- J'aime la bière.
- Parlons de la politique.
There is one common case where an indefinite article is required in English but not in French: when talking about someone's profession or another descriptive noun.
- Il est [*] plombier. - He's a plumber.
- Elle est [*] étudiante. - She's a student.