When to use the partitive article when talking about general things?

Madeleine G.C1Kwiziq community member

When to use the partitive article when talking about general things?

It looks like sometimes you use the partitive article 'des' even when referring to general things, for example:

Le vin blanc me donne des maux de tête.

or the following sentence from an exercise: 'J'étudierais un sujet qui me plaît, en rencontrant des gens intéressants

Can someone explain this please?

Asked 6 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Madeleine,

Thank you for your very interesting question and I will try and answer it.

In French for generalities you imply that it is almost a fact as in,

'Les enfants aiment le chocolat et les bonbons.'

It is not true of every child but of most of them.

I think you have to use the partitive in the two examples you give because: 

 'white wine clearly give you (some/a) headache'

In the second example 'you will meet (some) interesting people while studying...'

You might say: ' J'aime les gens intéressants'  in that case it is all of the people under that genus.

It is so instinctive it's quite hard to explain...

Hope it helps!

When to use the partitive article when talking about general things?

It looks like sometimes you use the partitive article 'des' even when referring to general things, for example:

Le vin blanc me donne des maux de tête.

or the following sentence from an exercise: 'J'étudierais un sujet qui me plaît, en rencontrant des gens intéressants

Can someone explain this please?

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