How to distinguish between partitive articles du, de la, de l' ,des and FROM.
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How to distinguish between partitive articles du, de la, de l' ,des and FROM.
Bonjour Zubair !
That's a very good remark, and it works for the partitive articles (some), for "from the", but also "of the" which are both expressed with "DE + definite article" in French.
The answer I can give you is that context is the only way to differenciate them.
Here are some examples to practice :)
1- Je mange du pain. (I eat [some] bread. -> partitive)
2- J'ai sauté du bateau. (I jumped from the boat.)
3- J'aime la sœur du facteur. (I love the postman's sister -> the sister of the postman)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
I struggle with this a lot. So it is comforting to know that Laura K Lawless confirms in her article that "de can be very difficult for French students, even at advanced levels."
Read this site for explanation - It helped me.
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des/
How to distinguish between partitive articles du, de la, de l' ,des and FROM.
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