De + Definite Articles: When French Uses Du and Des

Remember how à combines with le and les to form au and aux? Well, de follows the same pattern, but creates two different contractions: du and des.

The preposition de can mean “of,” “from,” or “about,” depending on the sentence. When it comes before certain forms of “the,” French combines the words rather than keeping them separate.

✦The Rule✦

When de comes before a definite article, here’s what happens:

de + le → du
de + la → de la (no change)
de + l’ → de l’ (no change)
de + les → des

Just like with à, only le and les change. These contractions are required, not optional.

1. DE + LE = DU

Let’s say you’re coming back from the supermarket. Since supermarché is masculine and uses the article le, French combines de + le into du.

Je reviens de le supermarché. I’m coming back from the supermarket. ❌ incorrect

Je reviens du supermarché. I’m coming back from the supermarket. de + le → du

You’ll encounter du in plenty of other situations, too:

Nous parlons du film. We’re talking about the movie. du = de + le film

La porte du garage est ouverte. The garage door is open. du = de + le garage

Elle revient du bureau. She’s coming back from the office. du = de + le bureau

Notice that de doesn’t always mean “from.” It can also express a relationship between things, or introduce the subject you’re talking about. The contraction stays the same.

2. DE + LA and DE + L’ Stay the Same

Good news: just like with à, the feminine singular article la doesn’t contract.

Je reviens de la pharmacie. I’m coming back from the pharmacy. de + la → de la

Nous parlons de la réunion. We’re talking about the meeting. de + la → de la

And before a vowel sound or silent h, le and la become l’. Neither contracts with de.

Elle revient de l’école. She’s coming back from school. de + l’ → de l’

Nous parlons de l’examen. We’re talking about the exam. de + l’ → de l’

Il sort de l’hôtel. He’s leaving the hotel. de + l’ → de l’

Remember, l’ can replace either a masculine or feminine article. Even though examen and hôtel are masculine, we use de l’, not du, because their definite article is l’ rather than le.

3. DE + LES = DES

Our second contraction is des, which replaces de + les.

Je reviens des magasins. I’m coming back from the stores. de + les → des

Elle parle des étudiants. She’s talking about the students. des = de + les étudiants

Le jardin des voisins est magnifique. The neighbors’ garden is beautiful. des = de + les voisins

Nous discutons des nouvelles règles. We’re discussing the new rules. des = de + les nouvelles règles

As with aux, des works for both masculine and feminine plural nouns. No extra forms to memorize!

Pronunciation Note

Unlike au and aux, which sound the same, du and des have different pronunciations.

Du has the French u sound, made with rounded lips while your tongue is positioned as if saying “ee.” It isn’t pronounced like English “doo.”
Des sounds like “day,” but without the English y glide at the end.

Before a vowel sound or silent h, des makes a liaison with a z sound, just like aux.

des étudiants of the students (des-z-étudiants) linking z sound

4. One Important Distinction: Du and Des Don’t Always Mean “Of the”

Here’s something that can be confusing: du and des have more than one job in French.

So far, we’ve learned them as contractions of de + le and de + les. But you may have also seen them used to mean “some” or an unspecified amount or number of something. Compare:

Je reviens du marché. I’m coming back from the market. du = de + le (from the)

Je mange du pain. I’m eating some bread. du = some bread

Je parle des livres que tu m’as prêtés. I’m talking about the books you lent me. des = de + les (about the)

J’achète des livres. I’m buying some books. des = some books

The spelling is identical, but the meaning changes depending on the sentence. Sometimes du and des combine de + “the”; other times, they’re articles introducing an unspecified amount or number.

You don’t need to master all these article distinctions right now. We’ll cover them in the Partitive Articles guide. For this deck, concentrate on recognizing when de combines with a definite article.