le centre de l'attention

Question

Hey,why is it "et elle détestait particulièrement être le centre de l'attention."Collins Robert Dictionary and other online sources all say "le centre d'attention"The de/de la/d'/du is always confusing.

Accepted Answer

Hi Dragana,
In this context it is 'le centre de l'attention'  to describe a psychological trait.
I have  taken this quote from a French psychology page describing how it might be used -
« Les personnes avec un ego démesuré ont besoin d’être le centre de l’attention, elles cherchent la reconnaissance et se préoccupent peu des autres. Une estime de soi saine nous permet au contraire de respecter nos propres désirs et aussi ceux des autres. »
You use :
'le centre d'attention' to refer to a focal point 
L'enfant A va être le centre d'attention de la réunion = Child A will be the focal point /focus of attention of the meeting
Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Dragana,In this context, is she receiving all of the attention from everyone present or just some of it?I see this as an "uncountable noun" therefore de l' (partitive).Hope this helps.Jim

Answer

The difference is this:le centre d'attention -- the center of attentionle centre de l'attention -- the conter of the attention

Answer

Chris and Jim - so in the exercise - in english - it just said "centre of attention" - so in this case, we could use either in the french?

Answer

If you use "center of attention" as a technical term -- as seems to be the case in the writing exercise -- then you don't use the article.