Partitive articles

Kurz erklärt

French partitive articles express an unspecified amount of something, often food, drink, or another substance. English often uses no article or the word ‘some’, but French normally requires one: du, de la, de l’, or des.

Bildung

du + masculine singular noun; de la + feminine singular noun; de l’ + singular noun beginning with a vowel sound; des + plural noun. After a negative verb, these forms normally become de or d’.

Verwendung

• Use a partitive article when the exact amount is not stated.
• Choose the form that matches the noun and its initial sound.
• In a negative sentence, normally use de or d’ instead of du, de la, de l’, or des.

Beispiele

• Je mange du pain. — I eat bread.
• Elle boit de l’eau. — She drinks water.
• Nous achetons des fraises. — We are buying some strawberries.
• Il ne boit pas de café. — He does not drink coffee.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je mange pain.

✅ Je mange du pain.

Unlike English, French normally does not omit the article before a noun referring to an unspecified amount.

Merke

English may use no article, but French usually needs a partitive article. After negation, use de or d’ in most basic cases.