The partial article in French is used when it comes to highlighting a part of an object that does not have a specific form. Initially, the partial article was used only with concrete nouns, but over time it began to accompany abstract nouns and proper names as well.
So, consider the cases of using the partial article in more detail:
1) The partial article is used with real (uncountable) nouns when it comes to an indefinite amount of the designated substance:
boire du vin (to drink wine)
manger du chocolat (eat chocolate)
couper du bois (chopping wood)
Sur la table on trouvait du pain, du beurre et du fromage. There were bread, butter and cheese on the table.
Real nouns can pass into the category of countable and denote either an object consisting of this substance, or its various types.
un pain - bread, loaf of bread
un fromage - a piece of cheese
un thé - a portion of tea
les vins - different sorts of wines
In this case, the use of the article is determined by the same rules as for countable nouns.
2) The partial article in French is used before abstract nouns:
Il faut avoir de la patience. You need to be patient.
Eprouver de la repulsion. Feel disgust.
In the same sense, the partial article is used with specific nouns that cannot be counted:
En passant sous ses fenêtres j'ai vu de la lumière. Passing under her windows, I saw a light.
3) The partial article in French before specific countable nouns gives them a generic meaning:
Dans tout ancien professeur il y a de l'apôtre. There is something of the apostle in every former teacher.
Nouns denoting animals receive with a partial article the meaning of a homogeneous substance or a collective meaning:
Manger du lapin. There is a rabbit.
Il y a du poisson dans ce lac. There are fish in this lake.
Nouns denoting the names of objects receive a collective meaning with a partial article:
Il y a de la pomme cette annee. Apples have been harvested this year.
The partial article is used before collective nouns such as gibier (game), volaille (poultry), vaisselle (dishes), dentelle (lace):
Je vous enverrai du gibier. I will send you game.
The partial article can sometimes be used with collective nouns - names of persons:
De la police arrive. The police are coming.
Jouer du Verdi. Play (music) Verdi.
5) The partial article in French is part of numerous verbal turns formed with countable or uncountable nouns. The latter are used in this case in the sense of countable:
a) The partial article is part of impersonal phrases with the verbs avoir and faire, denoting natural phenomena:
Il fait du vent. Windy.
Il y a de la pluie. It's raining.
b) In combination with the verb faire, a noun with a partial article indicates an occupation:
Faire du sport (du ski, du tennis). Go in for sports (skiing, tennis).
Faire de la musique (du theater, du cinema). Engage in music (theatre, cinema).
faire de la politique. To do politics.
c) The partial article is part of many turns with the verb avoir:
avoir du succès (to be successful)
avoir du talent (to have talent, to be talented)
avoir du goût (to have taste, to be tasteful)
avoir du courage (be brave)
avoir de la patience (to be patient)
avoir de la force (to be strong)
avoir de l'instruction (to be educated)
d) The partial article is part of the turnovers with many other verbs:
mettre de l'ordre (to clean up)
voir du pays (to travel)
gagner du temps (gain time)
faire du bruit (to make noise)
faire du feu (light a fire)
faire de la lumière (light the light)
e) The partial article can be used before a noun, which denotes the name of the disease, as part of verbal phrases with faire:
faire de la tuberculose (to have tuberculosis)
faire de la tension (to have high blood pressure)
ARTICLE (L’ARTICLE)
The article is a function word that serves as an expression of the grammatical meanings of a noun (gender, number, definiteness, countability, incalculability and indefiniteness). It has no lexical meaning of its own.
Note: Front h and vowels definite articles le, la loses a vowel: l'ami, l'Afrique, l'hiver.
Definite articles le and les form a new continuous article with prepositions de and à :
- le + de - article du
- le + à – article au
- les + de - article des
- les + à - article aux.
Certain articles in French apply when it comes to:
a) an object that is unique in its number and kind:
Le Soleil éclairela Terre.- The sun illuminates the Earth.
b) objects that express a generalized, abstract
concept, and also have meaning in general:
L'homme est mortel. - Man is mortal.
Ils habitent dans l'appartement. - They live in an apartment.
Il aime le jazz. - He loves jazz.
Elle aimes les fruits. - She likes fruits.
c) objects that are known to the speakers:
Prenez les fruits. - Take the fruits (the ones that are on the table in front of you).
d) subjects that are defined by qualifying words, context or subordinate clause:
Le stylo de Pierre. - Pierre's pen.
Parlez-moi du film que vous avez vu. Tell me about the movie you have seen.
J'ouvre la fenêtre dans ma chambre. — I open the window in my room.
Nous sommes allés en France en voiture, le voyage a été long. — We went to France by car, the journey was long.
Certain articles in french also apply before:
a) geographical names:
l'océan Atlantique - the Atlantic Ocean, les Alpes - the Alps
b) the name of the people and language:
les Français - French, l'italien - Italian
c) the names of times and seasons, as well as dates: l'hiver- winter, le printemps- Spring, l'eté - summer, l'automne- autumn, le 22 mai-22 may, le lundi 8 novembre — Monday November 8
Note: The definite article matters each before the days of the week :
Il joue au tennis le lundi. He plays tennis every Monday.
d) color name:
Le violet- purple color, le blanc- White color
e) the name of body parts:
J'ai souvent mal a la gorge. - My throat often hurts.
Cet enfant a les Cheveux blonds et les yeux bleus. This child has blond hair and blue eyes.
But: Elle a des cheveux superbes. She has beautiful hair (judgment value, evaluation).
Lave toi les mains! - Wash your hands!
On lui a marche sur le pied. - They stepped on his foot.
Indefinite article
indefinite articles in french apply:
a) before countable nouns denoting an object (objects) belonging (belonging) to their class:
C'est une belle voiture. - It's a beautiful car.
Ce sont des exercices difficiles. “These are hard exercises.
b) in front of a noun that denotes a person or object, new, unfamiliar, not mentioned, which was first introduced into this speech:
Dans le village il y a une eglise. - There is a church in the village.
Il a des livres francais. — He has French books.
The indefinite article in the singular can express the singularity of an object, and in the plural - an indefinite set of objects:
Les Durans ont un films and une fille. The Durans have one son and one daughter.
Il y a des revues sur cette table. There are magazines on this table.
Partitive (partial) articles in french apply only before uncountable nouns denoting a substance, abstract abstract concepts:
Il achete du lait le matin. He buys milk in the morning.
Je mange de la baguette.- I eat a banana.
Vous avez de la patience, du courage. You are patient, you are brave.
The partial article is also used:
a) before nouns that characterize various natural phenomena:
Ilfait du soleil. — Sunny.
b) in stable phrases with a verb faire:
il fait du ski. - He is skiing.
nous faisons de la music.- We're into music.
Note: The definite article can be used before uncountable nouns. le, la, when it comes to a known, specific, concrete object or a substance and an abstract concept in general.
Il a achete du lait. Le lait est frais. — He bought some milk. Milk is fresh.
I'm aiming le light.- He likes milk.
Articles in French, like many other languages, are divided into definite and indefinite.
Definite article: le (m.s., singular); – la (female, singular); - l" (m.r. and m.r., singular, if the word begins with a vowel or h of the dumb); - les (m.r. and m.r., pl.)
We use the definite article to name a specific being, a specific person, or a specific thing. The definite article for the singular becomes "l'" before a noun beginning with a vowel or h of the silent.
Examples : Je suis Julie, la fille de Collette. (I am Julie, Colette's daughter).
La cliente voudrait un gâteau au chocolat. (The client would like a chocolate cake).
Les deux frères sont très différents. (The two brothers are very different.)
Ce sont les parents de Felix? (Are these Felix's parents?)
C'est la collegue de Thomas. (This is a colleague of Thomas.)
Fabienne invite ses enfants à la maison. (Fabien invites her children to her home.)
The definite article can be accompanied by prepositions à or de and then it forms united article:
a + le = au a + la = a la a + l' = a l' a + les = aux
de+le = du de + la = de la de + l' = de l' de + les = des
Examples:
- Vous donez au restaurant, ce soir? (Are you having dinner at a restaurant tonight?)
- Ils voyagent souvent à l "étranger. (They often travel abroad.)
- Il va souvent dans des marches aux puces en ville. (He often goes to the "flea markets" of the city.)
- Art Plus, c'est le magazine des arts. (Art Plus is an art magazine.)
We use definite article:
1. Before the names of the parts of the day. Examples : Le matin(Morning). / À 2 heuresdu matin(At 2 o'clock in the morning).
2. Before the days of the week. Examples: Nous dejeunons ensemble le lundi and le vendredi. (We have lunch together on Mondays and Fridays). (i.e. every Monday and every Friday we have lunch together.) But: Il revendra mardi. (He will return on Tuesday).
3. Before dates.Examples: Il revendra le 17 octobre. (He will return on 17 October). Je vais reprendre le travail le 8 juin. (I will start work again on June 8). Le 15 août est la fête natinalle. (August 15 is a national holiday).
4. Before the seasons.Examples:: Apresl' a utomne c'estl' h iver (After autumn comes winter).
5. Before place names.Examples : les Pyrénées (Pyrenees),la Seine (Seine),la Bretagne (UK)…
6. To name peoples and languages. Examples : les Belges (Belgians), les Anglais (English) ... / l' anglais ( English language), le grec (Greek)… Example: Elle parle parfaitement le japonais! (She speaks excellent Japanese!)
7. To name colors.Examples : le blanc (white),le rouge (red).
8. Front superlatives . Example: Cet ecrivain est le plus celebre en France. (This writer is the most famous in France).
9. To indicate the measure. Example : Les cerises coûtent 4 euros le kilo. (Cherry costs 4 euros per kilogram).
10. To give approximate, approximate figures.Example :Ce jeune homme doit avoirla trentine.(This young man about 30 years).
11. Before some holidays. Examples : La Saint-Nicolas (St. Nicolas day),l' Ascension (Ascension),la Pentecôte (Trinity Day).But: Noël (Christmas), Pâques (Easter)
12. Before body parts. Example: Elle se lave les mains. (She washes her hands.)
P.S. After the verbaimer(love) we write onlydefinite article! Example: Vous aimez les lanques etrangeres? (Do you like foreign languages?)
We do not use the article:
· Before proper names and names of cities, except for the names of masculine cities. Examples : Athenes (Athens)/Le Havre / Paul(Paul), Mari (Marie), Collette (Coletta) ...
· Before monsieur, madame, mademoiselle. Example : Voila Mademoiselle Lemoine.(Here is Mademoiselle Lemoine).
Indefinite article: un (m.s., singular) - une (f.s., singular) - d es(m.r. and female, pl.) and partial article: du (m.r.) - de la (female) - de l’(m.r. and f.r. before a vowel orhmute) - des
We use indefinite article to name creatures, people or things that are not specific, identified, meanwhile, partial article names some part of the whole.
Examples :
- Elle achete un sandwich. (She buys a sandwich.)
- Collette est une amie de Francoise. (Colette is Francoise's friend).
- Je prepare une conférence pour deux cents personnes, en mai. (I am preparing a conference for 200 people in May.)
- Vous avez un rendez vous? (Are you meeting?)
- Ils mangent une tarte. (They eat cake).
- Vous regardez un documentaire a la television. (You are looking documentary on TV).
- C'est fantastique d'etudier une nouvelle langue! (It's great to learn a new language!)
- Ils organisent une grande soiree pour leurs parents. (They are organizing a big party for their parents.)
- Il achète de l'aspirine, de l'huile, de l'eau. (He buys aspirin, oil, water).
- Prends de la vitamine C! (Take your vitamin C!)
- J "écoute de la music. (I listen to music).
- Elle a ordonné des legumes avec du beurre. (She ordered vegetables with butter).
- On peut y voir des vases, des lampes, des photos, de la vaisselle. (There you can find vases, lamps, photos, dishes.)
- J'ai des amis a Québec. (I have friends in Quebec.)
We replace the indefinite article and partial article with de:
1. Before plural adjective. Examples: Jules trouve chaque fois de beaux objects. (Jules always finds beautiful objects.) But we keep the article when adjective + noun = compound noun. Examples: Nous visitons souvent des residences secondaires de nos parents. (We often visit country houses our relatives.)
2. After an adverb or expression of quantity: beaucoup de(lot), peu de(few), plus de(more), moins de(less)…Examples: Beaucoup de tourists étrangers visitent la France. (Many foreign tourists visit France). Nous wars plus de films ici qu'à Lyon. (We watch more films here than in Lyon). But: bien des gens aiment voyager à l'étranger. (Many people like to travel abroad).
3. After expressions: morceau de(a piece…), une tranche de(chunk, piece, cut ...), un kilo de(kilogram…), une bouteille de(bottle …), un paquet de(package, bundle, pack ...), unmeter de(meter…), …. Examples: Unkilo de pommes de terre (Kilogram of potatoes), Un paquet de biscuits (Pack of cookies)
4. When negated (except when the verb être is used in the phrase).Examples : Il ne boit pasde lait. (He doesn't drink milk). Nous n'avons pasde saumon. (We don't have salmon).
But we do not change the form of the article if the negation does not apply to the whole phrase, but only to its separate part. Example:Marie ne boit pas d u café mais d u the. (Marie doesn't drink coffee, but she does drink tea).
5. P after the preposition "sans" (without). Example: Il boit son the Sans sucre. (He prefers to drink coffee without sugar). Je voudrais un sandwich Sans beurre. (I would like a sandwich without butter).
We also talked about indefinite articles in our new video tutorial:
You can get more detailed advice from the author of the article Elena Sergeevna Aksenova or sign up for a lesson with any of our tutors.
site, with full or partial copying of the material, a link to the source is required.
With uncountable indefinite nouns, the partial/partitive article is used. The partial article is one of the forms of the indefinite article: nous avons rendu visite à nos amis avec des bonbons et du vin. - We came to visit our friends with sweets and wine.
Partial article forms:
Du pain (le pain);
De la confiture (la confiture);
De l'amour (l'amour m), de l'amitié (l'amitié f).
The forms of the partial article coincide with the fused forms of the definite article. Pay attention to their differences.
Je bois du lait. nous parlons du projet. La fille du voisin. Je Viens du Japon. In the first example, the partial article. In the rest, the fused form of the mounted article.
Les convives sont contents de la viande. (de+la) - The guests liked the meat.
Les convives mangent de la viande. (article partitf) - Guests eat meat.
The partial article is used:
- Before nouns denoting a substance (indicates an indefinite amount of a given substance):
Nous voudrions du vin et du fromage. We would like wine and cheese.
Donnez-moi, s'il vous plaît, du lait chaud. Give me some hot milk, please.
- Before abstract nouns (indicates that the concept is not taken in its entirety, but in a concrete manifestation of this general concept):
Cet enfant est bien sage de plus il a de la patience. This child is very obedient, besides he is patient.
Il y a de la perplexité dans son regard. He is at a loss.
Before abstract nouns, the partial article is used:
- in impersonal constructions with abstract nouns denoting weather phenomena:
Il fait du vent. Windy. Il y a du soleil. Sunny. Il y a du brouillard. Foggy.
- in stable verb combinations, most often with the verb faire:
faire du théâtre
faire du vélo ride a bike
faire du patinage to skate.
Sometimes specific countable nouns pass into the category of abstract nouns, uncountable and expressing the quality, features inherent in these objects, persons:
Il y a de l'artiste en lui. He has an artistic nature.
C'est du roman, cette histoire. This story is like a novel.
If an abstract noun is used in a generalized sense, or in a specific context, then it is used with a definite article.
Nous avons achete du poisson, le poisson est frais. We bought fish, it's fresh.
Cette fille a de la patience. This girl is patient.
La patience est une bonne qualité. Patience is a good quality.
La patience de cet enfant m'étonne. I am amazed at the patience of this child.
The verbs aimer, préférer, détester convey a generalized meaning, so the nouns after these verbs are used with the definite article.
Manger, acheter, vendre - du poisson, de la viande, de la soupe, du miel, etc.
Aimer, ne pas aimer, préférer, détester - le poisson, la viande, la soupe, le miel, etc.
If abstract nouns and nouns denoting substances are defined by an adjective, they are used with the indefinite article:
Cet enfant a une patience exceptionnelle. This child has exceptional patience.
Ce garçon a un don rare. This boy has a rare gift.
Je voudrais un thé vert, s'il vous plaît. Green tea, please.
If a noun denotes a portion of a substance, or a separate object from it, it becomes countable and can be used both with the indefinite article in the singular and with the plural form:
Un pain - des pains loaf, bun; des vins - wine varieties; une bière - mug of beer, etc.
Apportez-moi, s'il vous plaît un fromage et un café. Please bring a cup of coffee and a piece of cheese.
As we have already mentioned, there are several types of articles in French. We have already discussed certain indefinite article, continuous article. Today we will talk about the French partial article or article partif.
At first glance, article partif looks like a continuous article, but their use in speech is completely different.
How to recognize the partial article?
So, let's begin. The French masculine partial article has the form du, for female - de la. If the article comes before a word that begins with a vowel or h of a dumb letter, then, regardless of gender, it takes the form de l': du café, de la crème, de l'eau.
Masculin - du: du pain, du fromage, du sucre.
Feminin - de la: de la farine, de la mer.
Voyelle ou h muet - de l': de l'eau, de l'huile.
In a cafe: examples of the use of the partial articleNow consider the use of the partial article in French. L'article partif is used:
before a noun that denotes a substance when the amount of that substance is not specified:
- Il a acheté dubeurre, du sucre, du sel, de l'eau minérale, de l'huile, du pain, de la - Heboughtoils, sugar, salt, mineralwater, vegetableoils, of bread, flour.
- As-tu de l'argent? - Do you have money?
in front of a noun that expresses an abstract concept (abstract nouns), indicating that this concept is not taken in its entirety, but we are talking about a specific manifestation of such a general concept:
- Cette femme a ducourage (de la patience, de la modestie). - (lit..) This woman has courage (patience, modesty).
- Nous manquons de la patience. - USnotenoughpatience.
before a noun that expresses a natural phenomenon (usually in combination with the verbs avoir and faire):
- Il fait du vent - Windy.
- Il fait du soleil - Sunny.
- Il y a du brouillard - Fog.
in combination with the verb faire - to do with the meaning of being busy with something:
- Il fait du sport - He plays sports.
- Elle fait de la politique - Sheis engagedpolitics.
- Ils font de la musique - Theyare engagedmusic.
Note that after the verb in negative form the partial article is not used, but is replaced by the preposition de:
- Elle n'a pas achete de pain - Shenotboughtof bread.
What do we eat for breakfast: use the partial article Now, to better understand and reinforce the use of the partial article in speech, do the following exercise. Choose the correct partial article - du, de la, de l':
- Joséphine voudrait …eau minérale.
- On veut …bière irlandaise.
- Est-ce que vous buvez …vin blanc seulement?
- Est-ce que tu bois …lait ou … jus d’orange?
- Marie mange …poulet et …frites.
- Michel veut …laitue dans son hamburger.
- Mon père boit toujours …alcool le samedi soir au souper.
- José mange …petits pois avec son sandwich au poulet.
- Nous commandons souvent …poisson au restaurant.
- Les enfants commandent … liqueurs douces sans alcool chez McDonald.
That's all about the partial article. We wish you good luck!
