Contractions
In English we may use "don't" or "doesn't" to replace "do not" and "does not." This choice does not exist in French. When there is a contraction, it must be used.
These contractions come with the singular masculine and the plural forms of the definite article when used with the prepositions de or à.
| Contraction |
Examples |
| de + le becomes du |
le titre du livre |
| de + les becomes des |
le père des enfants |
| de la and de l' do not change |
la mère de la fille; l'ami de l'enfant |
| à plus le becomes au |
Il parle au garçon. |
| à plus les becomes aux |
Leur mère chante aux enfants. |
| à la and à l' do not change |
Il donne un bonbon à la fille; il donne un os à l'animal. |
The Partitive
The preposition de has many functions. One important use is to express quantity. We call this the partitive. Perhaps you can remember that it's used when we speak of only a part and not of the whole. The use depends a great deal on the verb. With verbs such as aimer, adorer, préférer we use the definite article. Nous aimons les vacances! Nous détestons le travail! We love or hate the entire concept.
However, when we ask for something we ask either for a number or for a quantity.
If we use the definite article, it is necessary to continue and to identify the particular apple or apples we want.
Most of the time we simply want to say "some." For this we use the partitive.
One last important thing to remember. When you use the partitive in the negative, change to de or d'.
