L'article partitif (The partitive Article)
The partitive articles are used to denote an imprecise quantity which means some/any
| de + article definite | article partitifs | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| de + le | du (before masc sing nouns) | - il achète du pain (he buys some bread) - du vin(some wine) |
| de + la | de la (before fem sing nouns) | - il achète de la confiture (He buys some jam) - de la biére(some beer) |
| de + l' | de l' (before masc and fem sing nouns beginning with a vowel or silent h) | - il achète de l'eau (he buys some water(masc)) - de l'argent(some money) |
| de + les | des (before plur of masc and fem nouns) | - il achète des biscuits (He buys some biscuits) - des fruits (some fruits) |
Use
Used same as English but English tends to omit the partitive article where French does not
-achète du pain (buy (some) bread)
-vous avez du beurre? (do you have (some/any) butter?)
-je voudrais de la viande (i would like (some) meat)
-tu veux de la soup?(do you want (some) soup)
-tu dois manger des légumes(you must eat (some) vegetables)
-as-tu acheté des poires? (did you buy (any) pears)
The partitive article is replaced by the de (or d'):
- in negative expression
-il n'y a plus de café (there is no more coffee)
-je n'ai pas de verres (I don't have any glasses)
But : not replaced with être verbs (we will learn verb in later chapters)
-ce n'est pas du cuir, c'est du plastique (it's not leather, it's plastic)
- after the expression of quantity (trop de (too much), beaucoup de (a lot of), moin de(less of), assez de(enough off))
-il boit trop de café (there is no more coffee)
-il gagne assez d'argent (he earns enough money)
- after avoir besoin de
-j'ai besoin d'argent (I need (some) money)
-tu as besoin de timbres? (do you need (any) stamps?)
- where an adjective is followed by plural noun
-de grands enfants ((some) tall childrens)
-de petites villes ((some) small towns)
But: if the adjective comes after the noun, des does not changes
-des résultats encourageants ((some) encouraging results)
Note: Although the partitive articles and contracted articles with de have same spelling and pronunciation, the meanings are totally different
-il achète du pain (he buys some bread)
-il parle du professeur (hes is speaking of the professor)
Article défini ou l'article partitif
we use the partitive articles only to denote an imprecise quantity i.e. some, any. When we are talking in the general sense or about a precise quantit, we use the definite articles.
-J'aime le thé et il préfère le café (I like tea and he prefers coffee)
-Elle aime le chocolat mainelle déteste les légumes (She likes chocolates but she dislikes vegetables)
-Voilà des chocolats, j'achète le chocolat noir (Here are some chocolate, I am buying the dark chocolate)
-Voila le gâteau d'anniversaire, voulez-vous du gâteau? (Here is the anniversary cake, do you want some cake?)
Note: If some/any can be inserted before the English noun, the French partitive article should be used. But is the noun is used in general sense and inserting some/any in front of the English noun does not make sense, the definte article must be used.
- did you buy some fish? (i.e. any fish) - tu as acheté du poisson
- Yes, I like fish (i.e. fish in general) - oui, j'aime le poisson