Partitive Articles in French

In Brief

Use du, de la, or de l' before a noun when you mean an unspecified amount of something: du pain (“some bread”), de la soupe (“some soup”), de l'eau (“some water”). In a negative sentence or after a quantity expression, the article usually becomes de or d': Je n'ai pas de pain; un litre d'eau.

Overview

French partitive articles let you talk about an amount that is not counted or measured precisely. A noun (a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea) such as pain, soupe, or argent may refer to a substance or a general mass. When you take an unspecified portion of that mass, French normally puts a partitive article before it: Je mange du pain.

English often uses “some,” but it also commonly uses no article at all: “She drinks coffee.” French usually cannot leave the noun bare in the same way; it says Elle boit du café. This makes partitive articles especially important when ordering food, shopping, cooking, or describing everyday needs.

This is an A1 pattern, and the beginner rule is very regular: choose the form according to the noun's gender and opening sound. Once that is comfortable, learn the two major changes: de/d' after most negation and after expressions of quantity. Later sections explain useful contrasts and exceptions without changing that core rule.

How It Works

The four forms

A partitive article combines de (“of/from”) with a definite article. The choice depends on the noun's grammatical gender (its masculine or feminine category), number, and first sound.

Form	Use	Example	Meaning
du	masculine singular before a consonant sound	du fromage	some cheese
de la	feminine singular before a consonant sound	de la confiture	some jam
de l'	singular before a vowel sound or silent h	de l'eau, de l'huile	some water, some oil
des	plural	des pâtes	some pasta / some noodles

Du is the required contraction of de + le. There is no form de le. Before a vowel sound, both masculine and feminine nouns use de l', so you still need to learn the noun's gender for other contexts: de l'argent is masculine, while de l'eau is feminine.

The plural des has the same form as the plural indefinite article. With plural countable things, such as des pommes (“some apples”), it is often described as indefinite rather than strictly partitive. For practical use, the result is the same: des introduces an unspecified plural amount.

When to use a partitive article

Use it when the noun refers to an unspecified amount rather than a whole identified item or an exact number:

• food and drink: manger du riz, boire de la limonade;
• materials and substances: acheter du bois, mettre de l'essence;
• abstract or uncounted things: avoir de la patience, faire du bruit;
• some activities and fixed expressions: faire du sport, jouer de la guitare.

The article agrees with the noun, not with the person using it. A man and a woman both say Je bois de la soupe because soupe is feminine.

Partitive, definite, or indefinite?

The intended meaning determines the article.

Meaning	French	English
an unspecified amount	Je bois du café.	I drink coffee / some coffee.
the category in general	J'aime le café.	I like coffee.
one serving or one countable item	Je commande un café.	I'm ordering a coffee.
a specific, identified item	Le café est froid.	The coffee is cold.

This contrast is important for English speakers. English can use “coffee” with no article both for a general preference and for consumption. French distinguishes J'aime le café (coffee as a category) from Je bois du café (an amount of coffee).

After negation: usually de or d'

With ne ... pas and most other negative constructions, du, de la, de l', and des normally become de before a consonant or d' before a vowel sound:

• J'ai du lait. → Je n'ai pas de lait.
• Elle mange de la viande. → Elle ne mange pas de viande.
• Nous achetons des légumes. → Nous n'achetons pas de légumes.
• Il boit de l'alcool. → Il ne boit pas d'alcool.

Think of de/d' here as the marker of an absent amount. In everyday speech, French speakers often drop ne and say J'ai pas de lait, but de remains.

A major exception occurs after être (“to be”): the article is usually retained because the sentence identifies or describes something rather than stating that an amount is absent.

• C'est du thé. → Ce n'est pas du thé.
• Ce sont des épinards. → Ce ne sont pas des épinards.

The full article can also remain when the speaker rejects a specific contrast: Je ne veux pas du thé, je veux du café (“I don't want tea—I want coffee”). The neutral beginner sentence meaning “I don't want any tea” is Je ne veux pas de thé.

After expressions of quantity: de or d'

A stated quantity is normally followed directly by de/d', with no partitive article:

• beaucoup de sucre — a lot of sugar
• un peu de farine — a little flour
• trop de sel — too much salt
• un kilo de pommes — a kilogram of apples
• une bouteille d'eau — a bottle of water
• combien de temps ? — how much time?

This includes exact measures, containers, and broad quantity words. Compare Je veux du fromage (“I want some cheese”) with Je veux deux cents grammes de fromage (“I want 200 grams of cheese”).

A useful exception is bien de, which is followed by a definite article: bien du courage (“a great deal of courage”), bien des années (“many years”). This expression is more advanced and less neutral than beaucoup de.

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Je veux du pain.	I want some bread.	Masculine singular
Elle boit de la bière.	She drinks beer.	Feminine singular
Il mange de l'orange.	He eats some orange.	Elision before a vowel sound
On achète des tomates au marché.	We're buying some tomatoes at the market.	Unspecified plural
Tu mets du sucre dans ton café ?	Do you put sugar in your coffee?	An unspecified amount
Il faut de la patience.	You need patience.	Abstract, uncounted idea
Les voisins font du bruit.	The neighbors are making noise.	Common expression
Je n'ai pas de pain.	I don't have any bread.	Partitive becomes de after negation
Elle ne boit jamais d'alcool.	She never drinks alcohol.	d' after negative jamais
Nous avons acheté beaucoup de fruits.	We bought a lot of fruit.	Quantity expression + de
Ajoutez une cuillère d'huile.	Add a spoonful of oil.	Container or measure + d'
Vous voulez du café ? — Oui, j'en veux.	Would you like some coffee? — Yes, I would.	en replaces du café
J'aime le chocolat, mais je mange rarement du chocolat.	I like chocolate, but I rarely eat chocolate.	General category versus consumed amount
Ce n'est pas du beurre, c'est de la margarine.	That isn't butter; it's margarine.	Article retained after être

Common Mistakes

Leaving out the article because English does

• Wrong: Je bois café le matin.
• Right: Je bois du café le matin.
• Why: English can say “I drink coffee,” but a French singular mass noun normally needs an article.

Choosing the article from the speaker's gender

• Wrong: Il mange du soupe.
• Right: Il mange de la soupe.
• Why: The form follows the noun. Soupe is feminine, regardless of who eats it.

Keeping the partitive article after ordinary negation

• Wrong: Nous n'avons pas du fromage.
• Right: Nous n'avons pas de fromage.
• Why: In a neutral statement of absence, the partitive becomes de after negation. Keeping du would suggest a special contrast.

Adding an article after a quantity

• Wrong: Je voudrais un kilo des pommes.
• Right: Je voudrais un kilo de pommes.
• Why: A measure or quantity expression takes de, not du/de la/des.

Using the partitive for a general preference

• Wrong: J'aime du fromage. (if you mean cheese in general)
• Right: J'aime le fromage.
• Why: With verbs of liking and preference, a whole category normally takes the definite article: aimer le café, adorer la musique, détester les épinards.

Writing de le

• Wrong: Je voudrais de le riz.
• Right: Je voudrais du riz.
• Why: De + le always contracts to du. By contrast, de la and de l' remain separate forms.

Usage Notes

Partitives are frequent in requests and offers. Je voudrais du thé is a polite way to request tea, while Vous voulez du thé ? offers an unspecified amount. In cafés, however, un café usually means one cup or serving, whereas du café refers to coffee as a substance: Il reste du café dans la cafetière.

French often uses a definite article where English still has no article, especially for general statements: Le lait contient du calcium (“Milk contains calcium”). Here le lait names the category, while du calcium is an unspecified constituent.

Some nouns can shift between countable and uncountable meanings. J'achète du poulet means chicken meat; J'achète un poulet means one whole chicken. Similarly, du papier is paper as a material, while un papier can be a document or a piece of paper. The article helps create the meaning rather than merely reflecting it.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every point below at A1, but these patterns explain forms you will meet later.

The pronoun en

The pronoun en can replace a phrase introduced by a partitive article or by de. It normally appears before the conjugated verb:

• Tu veux du pain ? — Oui, j'en veux.
• Vous avez des enfants ? — Oui, j'en ai deux.
• Elle boit beaucoup de café ? — Oui, elle en boit beaucoup.

When a number or quantity matters, en replaces the noun phrase but the quantity stays: J'en prends trois (“I'll take three”).

Adjectives before plural nouns

The plural indefinite/partitive form des often becomes de when an adjective comes before the noun in careful standard French:

• des légumes frais — fresh vegetables (adjective after the noun)
• de bons légumes — good vegetables (adjective before the noun)
• de grandes quantités — large quantities

Fixed compounds and everyday usage can complicate this pattern, so treat it as a later refinement rather than part of the first A1 rule.

Meaningful contrasts after negation

The choice between de and a full article can communicate a difference. Je ne bois pas de café denies drinking any coffee. Je ne bois pas le café que tu as préparé refers to a specific coffee. Je ne bois pas du café, mais du thé corrects or contrasts the category. These are not random exceptions: the full article remains when the noun is identified or contrasted rather than simply reduced to zero quantity.

Partitive articles are not always translated by “some”

Translating du/de la/de l' mechanically as “some” can make English sound unnatural. Elle a de la chance is simply “She's lucky,” and Il fait du vélo is “He rides a bike” or “He cycles.” Learn the French article as part of the expression, then choose the natural English translation from context.

Practice Tips

1. Build noun-and-article pairs. Record vocabulary as du riz, de la farine, de l'eau, and des œufs, not as isolated nouns. Say each positive phrase and then change it to a negative one: J'ai du riz → Je n'ai pas de riz.
2. Sort a shopping list three ways. Mark foods by du, de la/de l', or des, then add exact quantities: du fromage → 200 grammes de fromage. This practices both gender and the quantity rule.
3. Contrast category and amount. Make pairs such as J'aime le thé / Je bois du thé and Je déteste les champignons / Je ne mange pas de champignons. Reading the pairs aloud helps the article choice become automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Definite Articles — review le, la, l', les and noun gender before learning their partitive combinations.
• Next step: The Pronoun En — replace partitive and de phrases with en instead of repeating the noun.