French Partitive Articles: Du, de La, de L', Des: Example
French Partitive Articles: Du, de La, de L', Des: Example
French Partitive Articles: Du, de La, de L', Des: Example
I. Introduction
Partitive articles in French are words that we use to express the meaning of ‘some’ or ‘any’.
In
English
we
can
say,
for
example,
‘I
want
chocolate’.
We
don’t
have
to
say
‘some’
to
show
that
we
are
being
general.
In
French,
it
is
slightly
different.
We
have
to
specify
further
and
say
‘I
want
some
chocolate’.
If
we
don’t
use
the
word
‘some’,
the
meaning
would
be
that
I
want
all
the
chocolate
in
the
world.
Example:
We have to say ‘Je veux du chocolat’ to specify that we mean ‘some’ rather than all.
‘Du’
(some),
is
the
partitive
article
in
this
example.
There
are
many
more
formations
of
partitive
articles,
shown
below.
II. Formation
The
table
below
shows
how
these
partitive
articles
are
formed.
III. Usage (with examples)
Which
partitive
article
you
use
depends
on
several
different
factors,
explained
in
more
detail
below.
1. Gender
French
nouns
are
either
masculine
or
feminine.
The
French
partitive
articles
change
according
to
the
gender
of
the
noun.
‘Du’
is
used
to
refer
to
masculine
nouns
and
‘de
la’
is
used
for
reference
to
feminine
nouns.
Example 1 : Je veux boire du lait. (I want to drink some milk)
‘Lait’
(milk)
is
a
masculine
noun,
therefore
‘du’
is
the
partitive
article
used
here
because
it
refers
to
a
masculine
noun.
Example 2: J’achète de la confiture. (I buy/am buying some jam)
‘Confiture’
(jam)
is
a
feminine
noun.
‘De
la’
is
the
partitive
article
we
use
in
this
case
because
we
are
referring
to
a
feminine
noun.
If
we
are
referring
to
a
noun
that
begins
with
a
vowel
or
a
silent
‘h’,
we
use
the
partitive
article
‘de
l’’.
‘Eau’
(water)
begins
with
‘e’
–
a
vowel.
We
therefore
use
‘de
l’’
as
the
partitive
article
referring
to
this
noun.
3. Number
Partitive
articles
change
according
to
whether
the
noun
we
refer
to
is
singular
or
plural.
The
examples
above
are
used
for
singular
nouns.
For
plural
nouns,
we
use
‘des’.
It
doesn’t
matter
if
the
noun
is
masculine
or
feminine
–
we
always
use
‘des’
for
plural
nouns.
Example:
Je
mange
des
fraises.
(I
eat/am
eating
some
strawberries)
IV. Negative ‘de’
‘De’
is
used
as
a
partitive
article
in
negative
sentences.
This
gives
it
the
meaning
of
‘any’.
For
example,
‘I
don’t
have
any
bread’.
‘Don’t’
is
the
negative
in
the
sentence,
so
we
know
that
we
are
use
‘any’
afterwards.
The
same
applies
in
French.
Example: ‘Je n’ai pas de pain’ (I don’t have any bread)
‘Ne…pas’
(don’t)
shows
the
negative
form
in
the
sentence,
so
we
use
‘de’
as
the
partitive
article.
V. Conclusion
These
rules
are
important
for
GCSE
exams
because
it
can
significantly
lower
your
grade
to
use
them
incorrectly.
Many
students
make
mistakes
in
this
part
of
French
grammar.
If
you
learn
and
apply
the
rules
correctly
from
the
outset,
the
exams
will
be
so
much
easier.
It
is
also
very
useful
to
know
which
words
are
masculine
and
feminine
so
that
you
can
ensure
you
always
use
the
correct
partitive
articles.
MCQ:
a)-‐
Adding
‘de’
to
‘le’
and
replacing
‘e’
from
‘le’
with
an
apostrophe
b)-‐
Adding
‘de’
to
‘la’
and
replacing
‘a’
with
an
apostrophe
c)-‐
Adding
‘de’
to
‘les’
and
replacing
‘es’
from
‘les’
with
an
apostrophe
d)-‐
Adding
‘de’
to
‘le’
or
‘la’
and
replacingthe
last
letter
from
‘le’/’la’
with
an
apostrophe
3. Which
partitive
article
is
used
when
referring
to
a
noun
that
begins
with
a
silent
‘h’
or
a
vowel?
4. Which of the following does NOT influence the partitive article used?
a)-‐
Number
b)-‐
Gender
c)-‐
The
tense
of
the
sentence
(past/present/future)
d)-‐
The
first
letter
of
the
noun
that
we
are
referring
to
a)-‐
Du
b)-‐Des
c)-‐De
d)-‐
De
la
7. Which
partitive
article
would
be
used
in
this
sentence?
:
Je
veuxacheter
…..
confiture.
a)-‐
Du
b)-‐
De
la
c)-‐
Des
d)-‐
De
l’
8. ‘Des’
is
used
as
a
partitive
article
referring
to…
a)-‐
A
plural
masculine
noun
b)-‐
A
plural
femininenoun
c)-‐
A
singularnoun
(masculine
or
feminine)
d)-‐
A
plural
noun
(masculine
or
feminine)
9. The
most
important
factor(s)
to
think
about
when
deciding
which
partitive
article
to
use
is…
a)-‐
The
gender
of
the
noun
referred
to
b)-‐
The
number
(plural
or
singular)
c)-‐
The
first
letter
of
the
noun
referred
to
d)-‐
All
of
the
above,
including
whether
the
sentence
is
negative
10. Why
do
we
need
to
use
partitive
articles
in
French?
For
example,
why
can’t
we
just
say
‘I
want
chocolate’,
instead
of
saying
‘I
want
some
chocolate’?
a)-‐We
can
and
it
means
exactly
the
same
thing
as
it
does
in
English!
b)-‐Because
French
speakers
like
to
be
more
specific.
c)-‐
Because
if
we
directly
translate
the
sentence
from
English,
it
would
mean
we
want
all
the
chocolate
in
the
world!
d)-‐
Because
we
need
to
ensure
that
people
understand
what
we
are
saying
to
a
greater
degree
of
accuracy.
Answers:
1.
D
2.
D
3.
A
4.
C
5.
B
6.
C
7.
B
8.
D
9.
D
10.
C