The use of partitive vs definite articles continues to be confusing to me, such as in this phrase in the second to last paragraph, "Un lien d'avenir, grâce à l'engagement ". It is translated as, "A link to the future, thanks to the commitment," . Why is d'avenir used and not à l'avenir? And why à l'engagement and not d'engagement?
Partitive vs definite articles
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MarshaKwiziq community member
Partitive vs definite articles
This question relates to:French interactive reading exercise "Présentation de l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie"
Reading B1, Celebrations & Important Dates, Language & Education, Listening or Seeing B1
Asked 3 years ago
Jim Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
I'm not aware of the text that you are quoting from but I can offer a couple of points that may help.
1) The definite article is omitted In French in forming an attributive noun (that is a noun used as an adjective).
So I'm thinking that the text "Un lien d'avenir" means "a future link" where "d'avenir" describes the link.
2) L' engagement is a contract or commitment making possible the link.
That's my input for what it is worth.
Alan (Jim)
Marsha asked:View original
Partitive vs definite articles
The use of partitive vs definite articles continues to be confusing to me, such as in this phrase in the second to last paragraph, "Un lien d'avenir, grâce à l'engagement ". It is translated as, "A link to the future, thanks to the commitment," . Why is d'avenir used and not à l'avenir? And why à l'engagement and not d'engagement?
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