des = de + les

Roman M.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

des = de + les

What are the grammatical terms (names) and usage for DES = DE + LES, on one hand, and DES as a partitif and DES as a normal plural article on the other hand?

Asked 3 weeks ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Roman,

1. Des = de+ les is called a contracted article

Je viens des États-Unis I come from the United States

Definite articles contract with à and de in French (French Contracted Articles)

 

2. Des can be a partitive article when you want to indicate an unspecified quantity of something.

Je veux des informations = I want some information

Du/de la/de l'/des = Some/any (French Partitive Articles)

 

3. Des can also be an indefinite article which is used with countable* nouns to mean "some" or "any" when the exact quantity is not specified or important

Il y a des livres sur la table There are some books on the table

Du/de la/de l'/des = Some/any (French Partitive Articles)

 

Take a look here too: French Article

 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Roman M. asked:

des = de + les

What are the grammatical terms (names) and usage for DES = DE + LES, on one hand, and DES as a partitif and DES as a normal plural article on the other hand?

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