French Partitive Articles: Du, De la, Des, and Pas de

In English, you can say “I drink coffee,” “She eats bread,” or “We need patience” without putting anything before the noun.

French works a little differently. Even when you’re talking about an unspecified amount of something, you generally need an article. That’s where partitive articles come in.

You may recognize du and des from the De + Definite Articles guide. Same spelling, different job: here they mean “some.”

And there’s another twist: when you make a sentence negative, these articles often change. Don’t worry, the rules are more straightforward than they sound. We’ll tackle them one at a time.

A partitive article lets you talk about some amount of something without saying exactly how much. Take bread, for example. In English, you can simply say “I eat bread.” But French normally requires an article:

You aren’t talking about one particular loaf or a specific quantity. You’re simply talking about eating some bread.

French has three main singular partitive forms:

The article depends on the noun’s gender and initial sound, just like other French articles.

Notice that the English translations don’t need “some.” In French, however, the article is normally required.

Not Just Food and Drinks

Partitive articles also appear with things you can’t easily count, including abstract ideas like courage, patience, and luck.

The same principle applies whether you’re talking about bread or courage: you’re referring to an unspecified amount.

What About Des?

French uses des when talking about an unspecified number of plural things.

The difference is whether you can count it. Compare:

For now, focus on the practical distinction: du, de la, and de l’ commonly introduce uncountable amounts, while des commonly introduces unspecified plurals.

Des Becomes De Before an Adjective

When an adjective comes before a plural noun, des usually becomes de (or d’ before a vowel sound). When the adjective comes after the noun, des stays.

In casual speech you’ll sometimes hear des anyway, and a few fixed expressions always keep it, like des petits pois (peas). But in writing and careful speech, use de.

General vs. Unspecified Amounts

Here’s another distinction that’s especially important for English speakers. Compare:

The first sentence expresses an opinion about coffee in general. The second describes drinking an unspecified amount. French commonly uses definite articles (le, la, l’, les) with verbs such as aimer, adorer, préférer, and détester when expressing general preferences.

When You Specify a Quantity

When you use quantity expressions such as beaucoup (a lot), un peu (a little), or un kilo (a kilogram), French normally uses de instead of a partitive article.

Before a vowel sound or silent h, de becomes d’:

In French, the usual way to make a sentence negative is to put ne before the verb and pas after it. But when you’re using partitive or indefinite articles, there’s another change: du, de la, de l’, des, un, and une usually become de (or d’ before a vowel sound or silent h). Compare:

It works the same way regardless of gender or number:

This also works with other common negatives, such as ne…jamais (never) and ne…plus (no longer).

Definite Articles Don’t Change

But what if you’re talking about something specific, or expressing a general preference using le, la, or les? Those are definite articles, and they don’t follow the same rule.

Remember the distinction from Section 1: du chocolat describes an unspecified amount, while le chocolat can refer to chocolate in general. Making the sentence negative doesn’t change that underlying meaning.

The Être Exception

Here’s one important exception: after the verb être (to be), articles normally stay the same in negative sentences.

The same applies to singular indefinite articles and partitives:

Why? You’re identifying or describing what something is, rather than saying whether you have, want, or consume any of it.

One More Exception: Contrasting Two Things

Sometimes French keeps the original article in a negative sentence to emphasize a contrast.

The first rejects one choice in favor of another. In ordinary negative sentences, stick with de/d’.