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/
Salut! Is it incorrect to say ils font aussi instead of ils font également? The alternate option was ils fabriquent aussi, but font aussi was marked incorrect. Wondering if there is a reason for that or is if acceptable?
Is the Passe Simplé more like Passé Composé in meaning, or more like Imparfait? Or is this comparison just not a useful way to think about it?
In the translation of 'it's not sufficient' why is 'cela' preferred over 'ce' in the phrase 'cela n'est pas suffisant' ?
What will be the formal of “Je suis d’accord avec toi”
I understand that what was wanted was, « Rien ne s’est passé », and that this is correct. But is it not also correct to say « Il ne s’est rien passé »? (I think I got this alternative from the Pimsleur program.)
I am not sure there should be an extra e at the end of je l'ai regardé as shown in the four options as offered.
I used the first person plural form of the verb for two reasons. Because the explanatory sentence used "we", not "one" or "people", and because although we may well know that everyone in our group is dying to meet her, we certainly cannot know that about the general public.
Why was this wrong?
Why is "en" used in this clause in the 4th paragraph:
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/
Why is it quarter to seven and not 7:45 PM?
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