Hi Maarten,

I'm intrigued by this point that apparently both "Liste de / des courses" are possible?

Is it the case that "de" is a preposition while "des" a partitive article?

Courses (nfpl) as you point out. There seem to be several translations for courses, however.

Errands / tasks / items.  Perhaps "courses" above is not meaning the same interpretation in both cases?

This is where Cécile might be able to comment further and then we will both be the wiser for that.

Jim

Jim - “une liste des courses” arises from the contraction of “une liste (de +  les) courses”, which derives from the expression being “faire les courses”. Larousse indicates this to be correct usage but doesn’t comment on the alternative. Some other sites list both forms. 

“Une liste de courses” would occur because of considering the construction to be “une liste de + (des for ‘some’ ) courses”, where contraction of de + des does not occur, and only “de” would be used. For this to be correct, I think “faire des courses” would need to be correct, and that seems to be heavily debated on the net! 

I am not commenting on whether both are grammatically correct. Both are clearly in use, and “une liste des courses” is not currently indicated as correct in the exercise.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-preposition/

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des/

Thanks Aurélie - our comments crossed paths !