Partitive Articles For Intermediate learners
What Are Partitive Articles (Les articles partitifs) in French?
Partitive articles are used in French to talk about an unspecified quantity of something. In English, this idea is often expressed with some, any, or no article at all.
They are commonly used with:
Food and drinks → du pain (bread), de la salade (salad)
Materials/substances → du sucre (sugar), de l'huile (oil)
Abstract nouns → du courage (courage), de la patience (patience)
Je bois du café.
I drink coffee.
Forms of Partitive Articles
The form of the partitive article depends on the gender and number of the noun. Look at the table below:
Article | Gender | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
du | masculine | singular | before consonant |
de la | feminine | singular | before consonant |
de l' | masculine/feminine | singular | before vowel or mute h |
des | masculine/feminine | plural | plural only, regardless of the gender or the first letter |
Here are some examples:
Il mange du riz.
He eats rice.
Elle boit de la limonade.
She drinks lemonade.
Nous avons de l'argent.
We have money.
Ils achètent des fruits.
They buy fruit.
Warning!
'des' can be indefinite plural (countable nouns) or partitive plural (portion of a group), depending on context.
When To Use Partitive Articles
Partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) are used to express an unspecified portion or quantity of something, often with uncountable or plural nouns.
1. With Food, Drinks, and Substances
Partitive articles are most commonly used with food, drinks, or substances, either uncountable nouns or a portion of a whole.
They are commonly used after verbs of manger, boire, avoir, acheter,and prendre.
Je bois du café.
I am drinking some coffee.
Elle mange de la salade.
She is eating some salad.
Nous avons acheté de l'eau.
We bought some water.
Il a besoin du sucre pour la recette.
He needs some sugar for the recipe.
Je prends du fromage.
I take some cheese.
2. With Abstract Nouns
Partitive articles are also used with uncountable ideas, qualities, or feelings.
Il a du courage.
He has some courage.
Elle ressent de la tristesse.
She feels some sadness.
Nous parlons de l'amitié.
We talk about friendship.
Il y a de la patience dans cette classe.
There is some patience in this class.
Tip!
Abstract nouns are usually singular and cannot take un / une unless you are counting them metaphorically:
un courage exceptionnel
an exceptional courage
3. With Plural Nouns
Des is used before plural nouns to indicate a portion or some of many.
J'ai acheté des légumes.
I bought some vegetables.
Elle a partagé des idées intéressantes.
She shared some interesting ideas.
Il a préparé des biscuits.
He prepared some cookies.
Partitive Articles in the Negative Form
When a sentence becomes negative, the partitive article changes. du / de la / de l' / des all become de (or d' before a vowel).
Je bois du lait. → Je ne bois pas de lait.
I drink milk. → I don't drink milk.
Elle mange de la viande. → Elle ne mange pas de viande.
She eats meat. → She doesn't eat meat.
Je veux des légumes. → Je ne veux pas de légumes.
I want some vegetables. → I don't want some vegetables.
Exception
With être, the article does not change in the negative.
C'est du sucre.
It's sugar.
Ce n'est pas du sucre.
It's not sugar.
Expressions of Quantity
When using words like beaucoup, peu, assez, trop, the partitive article disappears and is replaced by de / d'.
J'ai beaucoup de pain.
I have a lot of bread.
Elle a un peu d'eau.
She has a little water.
Il y a trop de sel dans la soupe.
There is too much salt in the soup.
Partitive Articles vs. Definite Articles
Sometimes French uses a partitive article where English uses no article.
Elle boit du café le matin.
She drinks coffee in the morning.
However, when talking about something specific or in general, French often uses a definite article.
J'aime le café.
I like Coffee.
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