When to use des

Brae B.B1Kwiziq community member

When to use des

I'm unsure of when/how to use des

If I want to use des as in the plural indefinite article, like des carottes would it be:

J'ai besoin des carottes - I need some carrots.

Or would that sentence translate as: I need THE carrots because de+les= des?

This question relates to:French lesson "Avoir besoin de = To need (French Expressions with avoir)"

Asked 4 years ago

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Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

J'ai besoin de carottes. -- I need carrots.
J'ai besoin des carottes. -- I need the carrots.
J'ai besoin de ces carottes. -- I need these carrots.

Verbal phrases like avoir besoin de don't use the definitive article (or partitive article). If you add les, you are talking about specific carrots. This is different in other phrases, which don't already include de, such as:

Il me faut des carottes. -- I need some carrots.

Like54 years ago

Brae B. asked:View original

When to use des

I'm unsure of when/how to use des

If I want to use des as in the plural indefinite article, like des carottes would it be:

J'ai besoin des carottes - I need some carrots.

Or would that sentence translate as: I need THE carrots because de+les= des?

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