FlexiLingoIn one line
dedoes three jobs: "of" (the neighbour's car), "some" (I eat some bread), and sometimes it is just glued to the verb. Where it sits in the sentence tells you which.
The table
| # | Job | Where it sits | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | possession — of | between two nouns | la voiture de mon voisin /la vwa.tyʁ də mɔ̃ vwa.zɛ̃/ |
| 2 | some of | after a verb of eating / drinking / doing | Je mange du pain. |
| 3 | part of the verb itself | the verb is incomplete without it | remplir le verre d'eau /ʁɑ̃.pliʁ lə vɛʁ do/ |
1) Possession — and English puts it backwards
| Order | |
|---|---|
| English | neighbour's + car — owner first |
| French | voiture + de + voisin — thing first |
English has two ways of saying this and only one of them matches French. "The car of my neighbour" has the French order; "my neighbour**'s** car" reverses it. French has no apostrophe-s at all, so every possessive has to be rebuilt the long way round:
le livre de Marie, never.Marie's livre
And the article that follows:
| What it says | Article | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
un cours de français | what kind | none | /œ̃ kuʁ də fʁɑ̃.sɛ/ |
la voiture du voisin | whose | yes → de + le | /la vwa.tyʁ dy vwa.zɛ̃/ |
2) Some of
English CAN say "some", so it feels like a match — but English can also leave it out, and French cannot:
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm eating some bread" ✓ | Je mange du pain. | /ʒə mɑ̃ʒ dy pɛ̃/ |
| "I'm eating bread" ✓ also fine | Je mange pain. | /ʒə mɑ̃ʒ pɛ̃/ |
That optionality is the trap. In English the partitive is a choice; in French it is compulsory.
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
Je mange du pain. | I'm eating bread | /ʒə mɑ̃ʒ dy pɛ̃/ |
Je bois de la limonade. | I'm drinking lemonade | /ʒə bwa də la li.mo.nad/ |
Je bois de l'eau. | I'm drinking water | /ʒə bwa də lo/ |
3) Part of the verb itself
Some verbs are incomplete without de. There is no rule — it is learnt with the verb:
| Verb | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
remplir … de | to fill something with something | /ʁɑ̃.pliʁ də/ |
avoir besoin de | to need | /a.vwaʁ bə.zwɛ̃ də/ |
parler de | to talk about | /paʁ.le də/ |
venir de | to come from | /və.niʁ də/ |
Exceptions
| In a negative sentence | du /dy//de la /də la//des /de//un /œ̃//une /yn/ all become de /də/: Je ne mange pas de pain. /ʒə nə mɑ̃ʒ pa də pɛ̃/ |
| After a stated quantity | the article drops: un kilo de pommes /œ̃ ki.lo də pɔm/ beaucoup de livres /bo.ku də livʁ/ un verre d'eau /œ̃ vɛʁ do/ |
| After verbs of liking | aimer /ɛ.me/ adorer /a.do.ʁe/ détester /de.tɛs.te/ never take the partitive, they take the full article: J'aime le pain. /ʒɛm lə pɛ̃/ not du pain /dy pɛ̃/ |
The verb's own de /də/ takes no article | remplir le verre d'eau /ʁɑ̃.pliʁ lə vɛʁ do/ not de l'eau /də lo/ |
venir du Canada /və.niʁ dy ka.na.da/ | that du /dy/ is not a partitive — it is de /də/ + le Canada /lə ka.na.da/, and it does not collapse under a negative |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| my neighbour's car | la voiture du voisin | /la vwa.tyʁ dy vwa.zɛ̃/ |
| a French class | un cours de français | /œ̃ kuʁ də fʁɑ̃.sɛ/ |
| I'm eating bread | Je mange du pain. | /ʒə mɑ̃ʒ dy pɛ̃/ |
| I'm drinking water | Je bois de l'eau. | /ʒə bwa də lo/ |
| I'm not eating bread | Je ne mange pas de pain. | /ʒə nə mɑ̃ʒ pa də pɛ̃/ |
| a kilo of apples | un kilo de pommes | /œ̃ ki.lo də pɔm/ |
| I like bread | J'aime le pain. | /ʒɛm lə pɛ̃/ |
| I need a book | J'ai besoin d'un livre. | /ʒe bə.zwɛ̃ dœ̃ livʁ/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
J'aime du pain. | J'aime le pain. | With aimer it is the whole thing, not a portion |
Je ne mange pas du pain. | Je ne mange pas de pain. | The partitive collapses under a negative |
beaucoup des livres | beaucoup de livres | After a quantity the article drops |
Je ne viens pas de Canada. | Je ne viens pas du Canada. | That du is not a partitive, so it stays |
remplir le verre de l'eau | remplir le verre d'eau | The verb's own de takes no article |
And one rule that runs across all three
de+ vowel →d'·de+le→du·de+les→desBut
de laandde l'do not contract.