Partitive Article

Question 1

What is the partitive article used for?

Answer 1

The partitive article is used before nouns that are not countable

Question 2

What is the masculine, singular partitive article?

Answer 2

Du

Question 3

What is the feminine, singular partitive article?

Answer 3

De la

Question 4

What is the singular partitive article before a vowel or mute h?

Answer 4

De l’

Question 5

What is the plural partitive article?

Answer 5

Des

Question 6

When is the plural form of the partitive article used?

Answer 6

The plural form of the partitive article is used before countable nouns (des fleurs) and nouns that are always plural (des gents)

Question 7

When is the partitive article used?

Answer 7

The partitive article is used when referring to an undetermined amount of items mentioned, and thus corresponds to “some” or “any”. While “some” or “any” are frequently omitted in English, in French they must always be stated

Question 8

What happens in negative sentences with the partitive article?

Answer 8

All forms of the partitive article are reduced to “de” after a negative expression such as “ne…pas”. Ex: Elle écoute de la musique. Elle n’écoute pas de musique

Question 9

When is the partitive article not used in negative sentences?

Answer 9

It does not occur after a verb like être, which is not a transitive verb (that is, it does not take a direct object). Ex: Ce sont des gens intelligents. Ce ne sont pas des gens intelligents.