EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE FOR USING THE PARTITIVE
When the Sentence Is Negative
Normally, in negative sentences, the partitive article is replaced by de. Note that de becomes d' before a word beginning with a vowel. Study the following.
| Affirmative |
|
Negative |
| J'ai du pain. |
|
Je n'ai pas de pain. |
| I have some bread. |
|
I don't have any bread. |
| J'ai une robe. |
|
Je n'ai pas de robe. |
| I have a dress. |
|
I don't have a dress. |
| J'ai des livres. |
|
Je n'ai pas de livres. |
| I have some books. |
|
I don't have any books. |
| J'ai des amies. |
|
Je n'ai pas d'amies. |
| I have some friends. |
|
I have no friends. |
If the sentence implies an affirmative idea or if you want to emphasize the noun, you may use the partitive forms in negative sentences.
N'avez-vous pas de la famille ici? Don't you have any family here?
Je n'ai pas du respect pour lui, mais du mépris. I don't have any respect for him, rather scorn.
When an Adjective Precedes a Noun in the Plural
When an adjective precedes a noun in the plural, the partitive becomes de.
| Singular |
|
Plural |
| J'ai un bon livre. |
|
J'ai de bons livres. |
| But: |
|
|
| J'ai un livre intéressant. |
|
J'ai des livres intéressants. |
When an adjective is an integral part of the idea, the partitive is used.
| des jeunes filles girls |
|
girls |
| des jeunes gens |
|
young people, young men |
| des petits pains |
|
rolls |
| des petits pois |
|
peas |
After Expressions of Quantity and Expressions with de
The partitive becomes de after expressions of quantity such as the following:
| assez |
enough |
une boîte |
a box |
| beaucoup |
a lot |
une bouteille |
a bottle |
| peu |
few |
un verre |
a glass |
| trop |
too much |
une tasse |
a cup |
| tant |
so many |
un kilo |
a kilo(gram) |
| autant |
as much |
un litre |
a liter |
| moins |
less |
une livre |
a pound |
| |
|
un peu |
a little |
| |
|
une douzaine |
a dozen |
| |
|
une tranche |
a slice |
| Elle veut de l'eau. |
But: |
Elle veut un peu d'eau. |
| She wants some water. |
But: |
She wants a little water. |
| Il a des livres. |
But: |
Il a beaucoup de livres. |
| He has some books. |
But: |
He has many books. |
| Je bois du vin. |
But: |
Je bois un verre de vin. |
| I am drinking some wine. |
But: |
I am drinking a glass of wine. |
La plupart (most) and bien (many) are exceptions to this rule.
La plupart du temps, je travaille. Most of the time, I work.
Bien des fois, il fait des fautes. Many times, he makes mistakes.
After expressions using de, such as avoir besoin de (to need), se passer de (to get along out), there
is no partitive.
| J'ai de l'argent. |
But: |
J'ai besoin d'argent. |
| I have some money. |
|
J'ai besoin d'argent. |
Plusieurs (several) and quelques (a few) do not require the partitive. Study the following:
| J'ai beaucoup de livres. |
But: |
J'ai plusieurs livres. |
| I have many books. |
|
I have several books. |
| J'ai assez de livres. |
But: |
J'ai quelques livres. |
| I have enough books. |
|
I have some books. |
In expressions of quantity de cannot be used before a pronoun. D'entre is usually used.
Plusieurs d'entre eux Several of them
Quelques-uns d'entre nous Some of us
To rules for partitive articles | Practice with Partitive Article (full and minimal) versus Definite Article
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