Let us consider the partitive articles, which are one tricky area-but very necessary-in French grammar.
Some-or-any-for food or drink or uncountable nouns-are used in English. In French, one says du, de la, de l’, or des. It will not be as hard if you can just learn how it operates.
This explanation of the partitive shall give examples of situational usage-from earned experience-rather than memorizing grammar rules.
What should be kept in mind is that the partitive expresses a fraction of something rather than the whole gene.
The Golden Rule: Think Portion, Not Object
In English, we can say I eat bread or I drink water. In French, you almost always refer to a portion of what you’re eating or drinking:
- Je mange du pain. (I eat some bread.)
- Je bois de l’eau. (I drink some water.)
French often reminds you that you’re only having a part of the whole thing.
The Usual “Some”: du / de la / de l’ / des
Here’s how it works in practice:
- du → before masculine singular nouns
- de la → before feminine singular nouns
- de l’ → before a vowel or silent “h”
- des → before plural nouns
Examples:
- Je prends du café le matin. (I have some coffee in the morning.)
- Elle veut de la confiture. (She wants some jam.)
- Nous achetons de l’huile. (We are buying some oil.)
- Ils mangent des fruits. (They eat some fruits.)
In English, you could drop the some – I eat bread / I eat some bread. In French, the partitive is almost always needed.
Negation Trap: Always “de”
When a sentence is negative, du / de la / des usually change to de.
❌ Je n’ai pas du pain.
✔️ Je n’ai pas de pain. (I don’t have any bread.)
❌ Elle n’achète pas de la confiture.
✔️ Elle n’achète pas de confiture. (She isn’t buying any jam.)
❌ Nous n’avons pas des idées.
✔️ Nous n’avons pas d’idées. (We don’t have any ideas.)
It’s a simple but super important rule.
Some compared to Any
In English, some is used for positive sentences whereas any is used for questions and negative statements. In French, du/de la/de l’/des are used for positives and de for negatives.
- Do you have any water? → Tu as de l’eau ?
- I don’t have any sugar → Je n’ai pas de sucre.
- Can I get some cheese? → Je peux avoir du fromage ?
Things to Watch Out For
Here are the common pitfalls:
- ❌ Forgetting the article: “Je mange pain.”
✔️ Always use it: “Je mange du pain.” (I eat bread/some bread.) - ❌ Mixing gender: “Je bois du confiture.”
✔️ Remember gender: “Je bois de la confiture.” (I drink some jam.) - ❌ Forgetting the “de” in negatives: “Je n’ai pas du lait.”
✔️ Correct: “Je n’ai pas de lait.” (I don’t have any milk.)
How to Learn Partitives
The best way to learn is not just by learning rules. Watch French and use these articles in sentences until it comes naturally to you.
- Listen: While watching French shows, pay attention to their use of du, de la, de l’, and des.
- Practice: Write shopping lists in French: du pain, de la salade, des pommes, de l’eau.
- Talk: Practice at home- “Je bois du café,” “Je n’ai pas de lait.”
Final Tip
Being aware of how to use du, de la, de l’, des will make your French flow naturally fast. It is one of those little things that set a good beginner apart from the fluent.
And if you want to actually put these tiny grammar traps to work in real conversations, feel free to book a free trial session with any of our trainers at Albert Learning. We’ll help you weave du français into your everyday!
