Partitive Articles in French: Easy Guide, Examples and Exercises
Partitive articles in French () indicate an unspecified quantity of something. Think of them as meaning “some” or “any” in English, though sometimes they aren’t directly translated. They’re used with nouns that are generally uncountable or refer to a portion of a whole.
Examples:
- Je mange du pain. (I’m eating some bread.)
- Tu veux de la viande? (Do you want some meat?)
How to use partitive articles
Unlike countable nouns (e.g., “a glass of water” or “two pieces of meat”), partitive articles are used for general categories where you’re not specifying a precise number or individual items. This is because substances like “milk” or “meat” refer to generic product types rather than discrete units, so you wouldn’t count them as “two milks” or “four meats.”
Here’s how the forms break down:
| Noun Type | Partitive Article Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular Masculine | du (de + le) | du pain (some bread) |
| Singular Feminine | de la (de + la) | de la viande (some meat) |
| Singular (starts with a vowel/silent 'h') | de l' | de l'eau (some water), de l'huile (some oil) |
| Plural (masculine/feminine) | des (de + les) | des légumes (some vegetables), des fruits (some fruit) |
Partitive Articles in Negative Sentences
In most negative sentences, the partitive article changes to a single form: de (or d’ before a vowel/silent ‘h’).
- J’ai du café. Je n’ai pas de café. (I don’t have any coffee.)
- Elle mange de la soupe. Elle ne mange pas de soupe. (She isn’t eating any soup.)
Important Exception: When the verb “être” (to be) is used in a negative sentence, partitive articles are usually retained.
- Ils ne sont pas des étudiants. (They are not students.) NOT
Ils ne sont pas d’étudiants. (This would be incorrect.)
Other Key Exceptions and Rules
- With Quantity Adverbs: When you use quantity adverbs like beaucoup (much/many), ass
ez (enough), peu (little), or trop (too much), the partitive article changes to de (or d’). - J’ai mangé beaucoup de pain aujourd’hui. (I ate a lot of bread today.)
- J’ai mangé un peu de fromage. (I ate a little bit of cheese.)
- Il y a tant de choses à voir! (There are so many things to see!)
With Numeral Adjectives: If you’re using words like un (one/a) or une (one/a), the preposition de is used, not a partitive article.
- Un verre de lait. (A glass of milk.)
- Un plat de viande. (A plate of meat.)
- With Qualifying Adjectives Before the Noun: When a qualifying adjective comes before an uncountable or plural noun, you also use de (or d’).
- J’ai acheté de belles fleurs. (I bought beautiful flowers.)
- Compare: J’ai acheté des pommes. (I bought apples.) But with an adjective: J’ai acheté de belles pommes. (I bought beautiful apples.)
- With Verbs of Preference (Aimer, Préférer, Adorer, Détester): Verbs like aimer (to love), préférer (to prefer), adorer (to adore), and détester (to hate) use definite articles () because you are expressing a general preference for the item, not an unspecified quantity of it.
- Je déteste le foie de vache. (I hate beef liver.)
- Elle adore le chocolat. (She loves chocolate.)
Exercises
Here you have the sentences in English for you to translate into French, taking into account the rules, negatives and exceptions of the partitive articles, try to translate them on your own and then compare with the answers at the end.
- I don’t drink milk.
- I want bread.
- They are not students.
- You have eaten a lot of sugar.
- I ate some cheese.
- I want a glass of coffee.
- There are few people.
- They want salad.
- I want to see beautiful flowers.
Answers
- Je ne bois pas de lait.
- Je veux du pain.
- Ce ne sont pas des étudiants.
- Vous avez mangé beaucoup de sucre.
- J’ai mangé du fromage.
- Je veux un verre de café.
- il y a peu de gens.
- Ils veulent de la salade.
- Je veux voir de belles fleurs.
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