Un 6.6
Partitive Articles
Partitive articles are one of the three article types that exist in French, the other two being indefinite and definite articles. Although used in similar places in the sentence, partitive articles offer a much different function compared to the other two types of articles.
Partitive Articles – Les articles partitifs
Similar to English, French has certain nouns that cannot be counted (e.g. ‘bread’, but not ‘a bread’, or ‘three breads’). In French, these uncountable nouns are typically used with partitive articles, whereas countable nouns are used with indefinite and definite articles. As their name suggests, partitive articles refer to a part or some of something, whether it be a physical or more conceptual something.
e.g.
| Ici, on fait du shopping. | People go shopping here. (literally: Here, people do some shopping) |
| Il a de la patience. | He is patient. (literally: He has some patience) |
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Partitive Articles |
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Singular |
Masculine |
du |
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Femine |
de la |
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*before a vowel or unaspirated ‘h’ |
de l’ |
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When the sentence contains the negative (ne..pas), the partitive article will become ‘de’.
e.g.
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Nous faisons du sport. Nous ne faisons pas de sport. |
We’re doing sport. We’re not doing sport. |
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J’ai de la chance. Je n’ai pas de chance. |
I’m lucky. I’m not lucky. |
Similarly, when partitives follow the preposition ‘de’, they are removed.
e.g.
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Vous avez besoin d’assistance ? (avoir besoin de + de l’assistance) |
Do you need help? |
For some nouns, it is possible to use a definite, indefinite or partitive article, depending on the given context. Typically, the use of a partitive article refers to an unspecified amount of the something, while the indefinite and definite articles refer to a set or assumed quantity (e.g. water vs. a bottle of water).
e.g.
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Je mange une pizza. |
I’m eating a pizza. |
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Je mange de la pizza. |
I’m eating pizza. |
Make sure to not confuse the partitive ‘du’ and ‘du’ (de + le), which is the contraction of the preposition ‘de’ and the definite article ‘le’. Similarly, ‘de la’ can either indicate a partitive, or the combination of the preposition ‘de’ and the definite article ‘la’.
e.g.
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J’ai du pain. (partitive) |
I have bread. |
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Je suis à côté du parc. (à côté de + le) |
I’m beside the park. |
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Je cherche de la limonade. (partitive) |
I’m looking for (some) lemonade. |
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Je parle de la limonade. (parler de + la) |
I’m talking about the lemonade. |
