8.1.2

Partitive Articles

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Partitive Articles

Partitive articles are used to refer to a specific portion of a whole.

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Msculine

  • masculine singular:
    • du: de + le
  • masculine singular (before a vowel):
    • de l’
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Feminine & plurals

  • feminine singular:
    • de la
  • plural (masculine and feminine)
    • des: (de + les)
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Usage

  • We use partitive articles when referring to a part of something, not the whole item.
    • They are almost always used with food and drink nouns.
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Difference

  • Je mange du chocolat
    • I eat (some) chocolate. → just a portion
  • Je mange le chocolat
    • I eat the chocolate. → the whole chocolate bar
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Examples

  • Elle boit de la bière tous les week-ends.
    • She drinks (some) beer every weekend.
  • Je mange des légumes avec de la viande tous les jours.
    • I eat vegetables with meat every day.

Jump to other topics

1Everyday Activities

2Personal & Social Life

3The World Around Us

4The World of Work

5The International World

6Common Tenses

7Advanced Tenses

8Extra Grammar

8.1Articles

8.2The Passive Voice

8.3Pronouns

8.4Asking Questions

8.5Nouns

8.6Prepositions

8.7Adverbs

8.8Adjectives

8.9Negative

8.10Conjunctions

8.11Miscellaneous

8.12Verbs

8.13Numbers

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