What is the difference between "au étudiant" and "l'étudiant"?
I'm literally just starting to learn French on my own. And I've got an example where le and l' are used:
Je réponds au professeur. (Being au the combination for à and le)
Je réponds à l'étudiant.
I also know that l' is used before a word starting with "h" or a vowel. And it can be used no matter what the genre is.
My question is, why can't I say "au étudiant", I've already looked it up on Google, and got a few results, but not as much as "l'étudiant".
Thanks in advance.
Update:I meant "not as many as"
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I don't think au etudiant exists. au is like a contraction of a and le, but if the noun starts with a vowel, you should keep the l' article even if the noun is not feminine. it's like saying an apple instead of a apple in english. so it should be a l'etudiant au lieu de au etudiant. the latter just sounds weird...
It is simple.
Just like you must use "l´" for a word starting with a vowel you must use "à " or "a" instead of "au" when you wich to translate "to" into French..
For instance, f you wanted to translate "to the student" you would have to use the " a/à l´étudiant". In the plural form however you would have to use the "aux" pronoun.