Search results
Mar 13, 2017 · First come the definite articles: Masculine singular: le, l', du, au. Feminine singular: la, l'. Plural: les, aux, des. You use them when what you're talking about is defined, both the speaker and the listener know the object defined. So it would be the equivalent of this/that in English.
Knowing whether to use du, de la, or des rather than just de can be a real challenge! This lesson is a detailed explanation of when to use the preposition de all by itself and when to use the indefinite article, partitive article, or de + definite article (which looks like the partitive – but isn’t. Ugh!)
- 1 – The French Partitive Articles
- 2 – Du, de LA, de l’, Des = Unspecified Quantity
- 3 – More About Translating “Some” in French
- 4 – French Indefinite Articles and Numbers
- 5 – More Specific Quantity = Expressions of Quantity + de Or D’
- 6 – Common French Expressions of Quantity
- 7 – Specific Quantity Is Zero, None = Pas + de Or D’
- 8 – French Partitive and Indefinite Article Recap
- 9 – French Partitive and Indefinite Articles Exercise
When you are talking about a portion of an item (food), or something that cannot be quantified (e.g. qualities, like patience), use a partitive article: 1. du (+ masculine word) 2. de la (+ feminine word), 3. de l’ (followed by a vowel), 4. des (+ plural word).
The French partitive articles express a notion of quantity: a vague one, a non-specific one. Important: these articles are often used after the verbs vouloir (“Je voudrais du vin”) or avoir (“J’ai des chats”) and with food. It’s the notion of “some” in English, but we don’t always use the word “some”. Often, we use nothing at all. In French, you ne...
In English, the word “some” is used for unspecified quantity (I would like some milk) but also as a derogatory adjective (he went home with somegirl). In French, you would never say “il est rentré chez lui avec de la fille”…He didn’t go home with an unspecified quantity of a girl!! So be careful, translation doesn’t always work. Same thing goes wit...
When you are talking about a whole item, use: 1. un (+ masculine word) 2. une (+ feminine word). Remark: the indefinite article ‘a, an’, and the cardinal number ‘one’ have the same translation in French. 1. Voici une fille. (a girl, one girl) 2. Donne-moi une pomme. (an apple, one apple) 3. J’ai un Euro. (an Euro, one Euro) 4. Je cherche un beau li...
This is usually the part that confuses students. Even if it’s not an article per se, I think it should be studied in this lesson since this is really the key to understanding it all. When you use an expression of quantity (a kilo of…, a bottle of…, a little bit of…) you are expressing a very specific quantity. And these are followed by the preposit...
Of course, quantity are going to be very common with food items. So you are likely to use these constructions a lot, since the French are always talking about food! 1. Un verre de vin (a glass OF wine, NOT DU, you do not say “a glass some wine”) 2. Une bouteille de champagne (a bottle of champagne) 3. Une carafe d’eau (a pitcher of water – de becom...
Following the same logic, PAS is a specified quantity ; none. So pas is also followed by the preposition de or d’. (Except after the verb “être”when the article doesn’t change). 1. J’ai des amis BUT Je n’ai pas d’amis. (I don’t have any friends) 2. Elle a beaucoup de patience BUT Elle n’a pas de patience. (She has no patience) 3. Il ya 5 livres BUT...
Some things are easy to quantify: one apple. It’s a whole apple. You usually buy, eat, need one, 2, 3 apples… But you may decide to be vague, and say “des pommes” = more than one, but I don’t know exactly how many. Now, some things are less easily quantifiable… You don’t buy “one rice”. You buy either “one kilo of rice” (a kilo of, an expression of...
So, let’s do some exercises to test your understanding: complete using un, une, des, du, de la, de l’, de or d’ 1- Je voudrais 2 kilos ____ pommes s’il vous plaît. 2- Je n’ai pas ____ chien. 3- Regarde ! ____ maison rose. 4- Je voudrais ____ gâteau s’il vous plaît (a whole one) 5- Je voudrais ____ gâteau s’il vous plaît (a portion of it) 6_ je voud...
des. + There are two singular articles, each of which can mean a, an, or one: Masculine: un. Feminine: une. + There is only one plural indefinite article: des.
Articles are used in languages to indicate a noun. Discover how to construct sentences using le, la, les, un, une and des in French. Part of French Articles, prepositions and partitives. Save to...
The French indefinite articles un and une are for singular nouns, which in English can be either a or an, while the indefinite article des for plural nouns generally translates as some. The indefinite articles in French must match the gender and number of the nouns they precede.
The French partitives of du, de la, de l' and des mean 'some' and 'any' in English. Practise constructing sentences using these partitives. Part of French Articles, prepositions and partitives
