"Des" becomes " de/d' " in front of adjectives preceding nouns (French Partitive Articles)

In French, the partitive article "des" becomes "de/d'..."  when it is placed in front of an adjective that is preceding nouns.

Using de/d' in front of adjectives preceding nouns in French 

Look at these sentences:

J'ai vu des endroits magnifiques.I saw magnificent places.

Il a mangé de magnifiques gâteaux.He ate some magnificent cakes.

Elsa mange d'excellents cookies.Elsa eats some excellent cookies.

J'achète de beaux draps.I buy nice sheets.

Note that when the adjective is placed BEFORE a plural noun, the partitive article des (some) becomes de (or d' in front of a vowel or mute h). 

ATTENTION:
This rule doesn't apply when des is the contraction of "de + les" (= of/from/to the) :

J'ai acheté de nouvelles bottes.I bought [some] new boots.

BUT

Je suis jalouse des nouvelles bottes que tu as achetées.I'm jealous of the new boots you bought.

Not sure which adjectives tend to go BEFORE the noun?

Then see Position of French Adjectives - Short and common adjectives that go BEFORE nouns and Position of French Adjectives - More adjectives that go BEFORE nouns

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Examples and resources

J'achète de beaux draps.I buy nice sheets.
Elsa mange d'excellents cookies.Elsa eats some excellent cookies.
J'ai acheté de nouvelles bottes.I bought [some] new boots.
J'ai vu des endroits magnifiques.I saw magnificent places.
Il a mangé de magnifiques gâteaux.He ate some magnificent cakes.

Counter example


Je suis jalouse des nouvelles bottes que tu as achetées.I'm jealous of the new boots you bought.
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