The partitive article de indicates, among other things, the word some. As learned earlier, de and le contract (combine) into du, as de and les contract into des. Also, instead of du or de la, de l' is used in front of vowels.
When speaking about food, the partitive article is used at some times while the definite article ( le, la, les) is used at other times, and the indefinite article ( un, une) in yet another set of situations. In general "de" refers to a part of food (a piece of pie) whereas the definite article (le) refers to a food in general (I like pie (in general)). The indefinite article refers to an entire unit of a food (I would like a ( whole) pie).
When speaking about preferences, use the definite article:
J'aime la glace.
I like ice cream.
Nous préférons le steak. We prefer steak.
Vous aimez les frites
You like French fries.
When speaking about eating or drinking an item, there are specific situations for the use of each article.
Def. art.
specific/whole items
J'ai mangé la tarte.
I ate the (whole) pie.
Ind. art.
known quantity
J'ai mangé une tarte. I ate a pie.
Part. art.
unknown quantity
J'ai mangé de la tarte. I ate some pie.
In the negative construction, certain rules apply. As one has learned in a previous lesson, un or une changes to de (meaning, in this context, any) in a negative construction. Similarly, du, de la, or des change to de in negative constructions.
Nous avons mangé une tarte.
We ate a pie.
Nous n'avons pas mangé de tarte. We did not eat a pie/ We did not eat any pie.
Nous avons mangé de la tarte.
We ate some pie.
Nous n'avons pas mangé de tarte. We did not eat some pie/ We did not eat any pie.
Note : Now you should understand better how that "Quoi de neuf?"(what's new?) encountered in the very first lesson was constructed... "Quoi de plus beau?!" (what is there prettier?) G: En
To say 'some of it' without specifying the exact object, the pronoun 'en' can be used. Additionally, 'en' can mean 'of it' when 'it' is not specified. For instance, instead of saying J'ai besoin d'argent, if the idea of money has already been raised, it can be stated as 'J'en ai besoin'. This is because en replaces du, de la or des when there the noun is not specifically mentioned in that sentence.
Like with 'me', 'te' and other pronouns, en (meaning 'some') comes before the verb.
Tu joues du piano? Non, je n'en joue pas
Do you play piano? No, I don't play it.
Vous prenez du poisson? Oui, j'en prends.
Are you having fish? Yes, I'm having some.
Vous avez commandé de l'eau? Oui, nous en avons
Did you order some water? Yes, we ordered
commandé.
some.
For more detailed information, see French Pronouns
G: Mettre
Formation
French Verb ? Print version ?
audio (upload)
mettre to put
