# FR: omission of articles in lists



## Nocciolina

Hello,
I would like to know whether, when listing items in French, the articles should be included. For example:

_Nos services TI comprennent: (la) gestion des correctifs,  (les) coupe-feu, (les) logiciels antivirus, (la) protection contre les logiciels espions...etc._

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads have been merged to create this one.


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## Ze Zeum

you shall put all of the articles. But it would be accepted without since it is a list of products.


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## Jean-Michel Carrère

Indeed, in lists articles are usually left out.

[…]


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## annt

I'm translating an advertising flyer that has a list of products at the bottom.  they look like this in English:

screws, nails, hand tools, lubricant etc.  

In French would you use the definite article to list them in this way?


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## Blancheneige

No, there would be no articles in such a list. (vis, clous, etc...)


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## shr3kky

Hiya everyone!

This sentence possibly needs some articles, but I am not too sure.Could anyone please help out and also enlighten me on the rule for this sort of situation? Thank you très très much. My suspicion of where the article lies is underlined red.

_Les developpments possibles a MK dans l'avenir proche incluent le Hub, qui sera un developpment de etages de xxxbureau,xxxhotels, xxxvente au detail, xxxcafes, xxxbars/restaurants et xxxappartements ainsi qu'une nouvelle ecole (Milton Keynes Academy) et les nouvelles maisons._

*Merci xx *


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Jello shr3kky,

It works also without articles here, as it's an enumeration.
« Demain je vais faire les soldes pour m'acheter chaussures, robes, vestes et chemises. »


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## Bijou58

I am having trouble when I want to list several things in a sentence
for example I want to say:

_On a l’accès aux programmes d’information (des informations?),  (du/de) cinéma, (de/des) sportives,  fiction, (de la/de) jeunesse, (de la/de) musique _

or can I simply say cinéma, sportives, fictions etc?

[…]

Thanks for your help


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## GrammarFreak

You'd rather say "_on a accès_...".

Listing things without articles at all sounds better to me.

"_On a accès aux programmes cinéma, sport, fiction, jeunesse, musique..._"

I don't really know what you mean by 'programme d'information' though.


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## Bijou58

i meant news, weather, current affairs - how would I describe that sort of programme?


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## GrammarFreak

Are you trying to list a brochure or booklet's programmes/activities? I would say something like:

"_On a accès aux programmes cinéma, sport, fiction, jeunesse, musique et autres informations utiles._"


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## thec00l1

Articles/déterminants in French always confuse me. I never know when to use them or not. Should I use them in the French sentence? At present I've simply listed the nouns without articles, is this correct?
Original: After analysing her customer's habits, Antionette decides to concentrate on *promoting cookies, carnations, cashews, and stuffed rabbits*.
My try: Après avoir analysé les habitudes de ses clientes, Antionette décide de se concentrer sur promouvoir *cookies, œillets, cajous, et lapins en peluche.*


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## amoureuse

Hi I need some help with listing in French.  Do you always need to use definite articles when listing eg. j'etude les relations internationales, le francais et l'histoire de l'art or can you just say j'etude les relations internationales, francais et histoire de l'art??


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## Maître Capello

Welcome to the forums, Amoureuse! 

You have to use each article:

_J'étudie *les* relations internationales, *le* français et *l'*histoire de  l'art_.

 PS: Accents are compulsory in French. If you don't know how to type them, please have a look at this sticky.


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## lynnedn

Bonjour.  When you have a series of items, does the article need to be repeated?

Il y avait des poissons, crustacés, gibier, fruits, légumes et céréales, or

Il y avait des poissons, des crustacés, du gibier, des fruits, des légumes et céréales ?

Merci.
Lynne


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## Donaldos

It _might_ be grammatically acceptable to use the article _des_ only once if it applied to all the terms of the description but _gibier_ is singular so it is not an option here.


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## purplemonkey

Bonjour! 

When you are listing things like "that shoe and shirt" do you have to put le/la in front of the words shoe and shirt?
For ex. Is it better to say "J'aime les livres, les papiers et les crayons." or "J'aime les livres, papiers et crayons." 

Thanks in advance!


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## Lacuzon

Bonjour,

Both are correct but to repeat is more common.


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## BoRayTess

A.  Quelque chose qui est *objectif* - une observation, _une_ déclaration, _une_ opinion, _une_ conclusion de la recherche, etc... -   or
B.  Quelque chose qui est *objectif* - une observation, déclaration, opinion, conclusion de la recherche, etc ...-       and

A.  Une observation subjective, _une_ déclaration, _une_ opinion, ou des conclusions de la recherche...    or     
B.  Une observation subjective, déclaration, opinion, ou des conclusions de la recherche...

Thank you.


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## Philippides

J'aurais plutôt tendance à laisser les articles.
Tu peux aussi regarder ce fil : Omission des articles dans une liste/énumération


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## ando51

Hello all,
I'm sending off some CVs to agencies, I would like to know whether the omission of the article is correct in the following. Many thanks for any help. Je travaille principalement dans les domaines suivants: contrats, tourisme, commerce/marketing, culture/musique.


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## Yendred

Yes it's perfectly correct. But you may also say:
_Je travaille principalement dans les domaines suivants : *les *contrats, *le *tourisme, *le *commerce *et le* marketing, *la *culture *et la* musique.
_
The version without the articles sounds a little more curt and official (which is good for a CV), and the version with the articles sounds a bit more personal, but is also good for a CV, depending on your intention and the way the rest of the document is written.


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## ando51

Thanks Yendred, these little nuances are interesting for a non native speaker. The extract actually comes from my cover email, I should have said that. So you're saying that neither is incorrect grammatically?


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## Yendred

ando51 said:


> So you're saying that neither is incorrect grammatically?



Yes, both are correct.


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## olivier68

Both are correct. Just... remain consistent : articles everywhere or article nowhere.


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## ando51

Thanks to both


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