When followed by the definite articles le and les, de contracts with them into a single word: de + le=du du salon de + les=des des villes But de does not contract with la or l' de + la=de la de la femme de + l'=de l de l'homme

The partitive articles in French correspond to "some" or "any" in English. There are four forms of the French partitive article 1. du~ masculine singular 2. de la~ feminine singular 3. de l' ~m or f in front of a vowel 4. des~ m or f plural

The form of the partitive article to use depends on three things: the noun's number, gender, and first letter: If the noun is plural, use des If it's singular starting with a vowel or h muet, use de l' If it's a singular noun and starts with a consonant use du for a masculine noun and de la for a feminine noun

Step 1: Deciding whether the noun is singular or plural If plural put des If singular move onto Step 2

Step 2: If singular, determine whether the noun begins with a vowel or consonant If the noun begins with a vowel put de l If the noun begins with a consonant move onto Step 3

Step 3: Determine whether the noun is masculine or feminine If masculine put du If feminine put de la

Du fromage Fromage

De la confiture confiture

des oeufs oeufs

De leau eau

des J'ai trouvé ______ romans que nous aimions lire ensemble.

De la Vas-tu manger ______ salade ?

du Il a perdu les clés ______ directeur.

EXCEPTION (beaucoup) Like other adverbs of quantity, beaucoup is nearly always followed by de, with no article. Wrong: Beaucoup des Right: Beaucoup de

De J'ai beaucoup ______ temps.

d Tu as beaucoup _____ amis.