Confusion with du, de la, de l', des The partitive articles (du, de la, de l' and des) can be identical in form to the contraction of "de + definite article" when dealing with quantities, adjectives and prepositional phrases. But they are separate elements of grammar? Is this correct?
If so, I've been incorrectly thinking that the partitive articles WERE those contractions in action.
A few questions arise,
1) is it correct that there are three meanings of "des" (not just two)?
- des, the partitive article (and presumably not a contraction of "de les"?)
- des, the indefinite article (not a contraction)
- des, the contraction of a phrase/quantity/adjective involving "...de les (specific plural noun)..."
2) is it correct that there are two meanings of "du" (not just one)?
- du, the partitive article
- du, the contraction of a phrase/quantity/adjective involving "...de le (specific singular masculine noun)..."
...and likewise for de la, de l'?
3) are the partitive articles meant to be thought of as a single grammatical unit and not as a contraction of the preposition "de" + definite article?
For reference, I consulted
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des-quantity/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/partitive-article/
He must not lose his keys. Are both the following acceptable? il faut qu'il ne perde pas ses clés? et il ne faut pas qu'il perde ses clés?
Please help!
I say il faisait froid ce matin and my French neighbours nearly always respond with " oui il faisait frais".
Am I wrong to use froid - should I say
frais ?
For vecu, why isn't there a cedille under the "c"? Recu uses a cedille and I thought that CU combinatioin made it a hard c. I don't expect an answer, but at least I tried.
The partitive articles (du, de la, de l' and des) can be identical in form to the contraction of "de + definite article" when dealing with quantities, adjectives and prepositional phrases. But they are separate elements of grammar? Is this correct?
If so, I've been incorrectly thinking that the partitive articles WERE those contractions in action.
A few questions arise,
1) is it correct that there are three meanings of "des" (not just two)?
- des, the partitive article (and presumably not a contraction of "de les"?)
- des, the indefinite article (not a contraction)
- des, the contraction of a phrase/quantity/adjective involving "...de les (specific plural noun)..."
2) is it correct that there are two meanings of "du" (not just one)?
- du, the partitive article
- du, the contraction of a phrase/quantity/adjective involving "...de le (specific singular masculine noun)..."
...and likewise for de la, de l'?
3) are the partitive articles meant to be thought of as a single grammatical unit and not as a contraction of the preposition "de" + definite article?
For reference, I consulted
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des-quantity/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/partitive-article/
Which will be the better translation into French for the phrase "together with the coca, it must have made people feel good"?
(1) "avec la coca, ça les gens devait se sentir bien"; or
(2) "avec la coca, ça a dû faire que les gens se sentir bien"
The lesson contains no statement on how le conditional passé is formed, leaving the student to infer the rule from examples alone. I don't find that a great way to learn. Looking at some of the Q&A on this lesson from others it seems I'm not alone.
Bonjour! I had always thought that conjugations like "voulons" and "voulez" were pronounced differently before vowels vs. consonants. For example, I thought "vous voulez de l'eau" would be pronounced "vu vu-lay de l'oh" but "vous voulez une glace" would be pronounced "vu vu-laise une glace." Similarly, "nous voulons de l'eau" would be pronounced "nu vu-lohn de l'oh" (not sure how best to represent the french nasal N) but "nous voulons une glace" would be pronounced "nu vu-lonz une glace."
I notice in the pronunciation sound guides above, however, that the endings of the words are not pronounced prior to a vowel.
Am I wrong about pronunciation before vowels or are the sound clips incorrect?
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