{"id":289,"date":"2024-02-27T18:35:27","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T23:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/?post_type=chapter&p=289"},"modified":"2024-02-27T18:38:09","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T23:38:09","slug":"5-10-structure-articles-partitifs","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/frenchoer1\/chapter\/5-10-structure-articles-partitifs\/","title":{"raw":"5.10: Structure - Articles partitifs","rendered":"5.10: Structure – Articles partitifs"},"content":{"raw":"

In this section, you will learn about partitives<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n

Media Alternative<\/span><\/h2>\r\nListen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n

On \u00e9tudie !<\/h2>\r\n

It's time to go into town and do some shopping. What are we going to buy? Are we going to buy \"some milk\" or are we going to buy a \"carton of milk\"? Do we need some bread or do we need \"some loaves of bread\"? Are we going to drink \"some coffee\" or are we going to drink \"a couple of coffees\". In order to make these decisions, we should take a look at partitive articles!<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n

Les partitifs<\/h3>\r\n

You are already familiar with the definite articles (le, la, les<\/strong>) and indefinite articles (un, une, des<\/strong>). Now we will look at a third kind of article called partitives. These are formed by combining the preposition de<\/strong> with a singular definite article: du<\/strong>, de la<\/strong>, de l'<\/strong>, des<\/strong>. Partitive articles indicate an unspecified quantity of a noun (nouns that normally cannot be counted, like \"sugar\", \"sand\", \"money\", or that don't need to be counted). They are similar to the word \"some\" in English. Here are some examples:<\/p>\r\n

Je prends de <\/strong>l'<\/strong>eau. (I'm having some water.)<\/p>\r\n

Tu veux du<\/strong> caf\u00e9 ? (Do you want some coffee?)<\/p>\r\n

Il a du<\/strong> papier dans son bureau. (He has some paper in his office.)<\/p>\r\n

J'ai mis de la<\/strong> confiture sur le pain. (I put some jelly on the bread.)<\/p>\r\n

Ma m\u00e8re vas acheter des<\/strong> p\u00e2tisseries. (My mother is going to buy some pastries.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n

Note<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

When you negate these examples, you will just use de<\/strong> without a definite article after it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Je ne prends pas d'<\/strong>eau.<\/p>\r\n

Tu ne veux pas de<\/strong> caf\u00e9 ?<\/p>\r\n

Il n'a pas de<\/strong> papier dans son bureau.<\/p>\r\n

Je n'ai pas mis de<\/strong> confiture.<\/p>\r\n

The partitive article does not always translate to some in English:<\/p>\r\n

\u2014 Qu'est-ce que tu vas acheter au supermarch\u00e9 ? (What are you going to buy at the supermarket?)<\/p>\r\n

\u2014 Du<\/strong> pain, de la<\/strong> bi\u00e8re et de <\/strong>l'eau min\u00e9rale. (Bread, beer and mineral water.)<\/p>\r\nHere is a summary of Partitive articles:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Articles partitifs<\/caption>\r\n
Genre, nombre<\/th>\r\nArticles partitifs ou contractions<\/th>\r\nN\u00e9gation<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
masculin\u00a0singulier<\/td>\r\ndu\r\nde l'<\/td>\r\nde\r\nd'<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
f\u00e9minin\u00a0singulier<\/td>\r\nde la\r\nde l'<\/td>\r\nde\r\nd'<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
masculin ou f\u00e9minin pluriel<\/td>\r\ndes<\/td>\r\nde\r\nd'<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

It is important to recognize the difference between partitive vs. indefinite articles. Compare:<\/p>\r\n

(1) du g\u00e2teau <\/strong>(some cake) vs. (2) des g\u00e2teaux <\/strong>([some] cakes)<\/p>\r\n

In the first example, gateau<\/strong> is a mass noun that cannot be counted. In \"Would you like some cake\" we are not dealing with a specific number of cakes or pieces of cake - just some cake. We know this because of the partitive du<\/strong> and the singular form of the noun gateau<\/strong>. In the second example, g\u00e2teaux<\/strong> is a countable noun. We know this because it is pluralized with an -x<\/strong> in French (like the -s<\/strong> in cakes) and because it is preceded by the plural article des<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

See if you can recognize this same difference between mass nouns (with partitives) vs. countable nouns (without partitives), in these examples:<\/p>\r\n