Partitive articles (some/any)
There are four types of partitive article in French, du, de la, de lâ, and des, used to specify unknown quantities. These correspond to 'some' or 'any', which are often omitted in English. Choosing which one to use depends on the gender, number and first letter of the noun that follows.
- Quâest-ce que vous voulez manger ? - Du poulet et de la salade. -What do you want to eat? -(Some) chicken and (some) salad please.
Aujourd'hui, il y a de la pluie et du soleil. Today, there is some rain, and some sun.
| Noun | Article | |
|---|---|---|
| â | DU | Vous voulez du cafĂ©Â ? Do you want some coffee? |
| â | DE LA | Tu peux acheter de la viande ? Can you buy some meat? |
| ââ Term starting with a vowel or a silent h | DE Lâ | Tu as de l'huile d'olive ? Do you have some olive oil? |
| ââââ | DES | Vous voulez des lĂ©gumes ? Do you want some vegetables? |
Note: In the negative form, we replace du, de la, des by de (or dâ).
Je ne veux pas de cafĂ©. I donât want any coffee.
Nous ne voulons pas de lĂ©gumes. We donât want any vegetables.
Nous ne voulons pas de lĂ©gumes. We donât want any vegetables.
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