C’était un peu du n’importe quoi

Anita P.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

C’était un peu du n’importe quoi

C’était un peu du n’importe quoi- why isn’t it “c’était un peu de n’importe quoi “ ? I always thought that de was used after a quantity ?

Asked 3 years ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Anita,

With the expression "n'importe quoi" you can use 'du' or you will omit it (de) entirely: 

 

C'était (du) n'importe quoi ! = It was nonesense!

C'était un peu (du) n'importe quoi ! = It was a bit of a mess!

See partner's link here: N'importe quoi

Attention : 

C'était un peu de café It was a bit of coffee

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Anita,

It's a bit of a shambles or a mess so is it not the case that "du" is partitive here? Part of the uncountable?

This how I see see it  --  hope it helps?

Jim

Anita P. asked:

C’était un peu du n’importe quoi

C’était un peu du n’importe quoi- why isn’t it “c’était un peu de n’importe quoi “ ? I always thought that de was used after a quantity ?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!