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Du, De la, De l’, Des: French Partitive Articles
Use du, de la, de l’, or des when French means "some" or "an amount of" something. English often says nothing — "I’m buying bread" — but French normally needs a partitive article:
J’achète du pain.
Think of these words as scooping an amount from a larger whole. You are not pointing at one specific loaf or one specific jar; you are taking some bread, some jam, some water, some tickets. The form changes with the noun after it, so partitive articles also lean on noun gender.
In short
- Du before masculine singular nouns: du pain, du fromage.
- De la before feminine singular nouns: de la soupe, de la confiture.
- De l’ before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound (including most mute h): de l’eau, de l’argent.
- Des before plural nouns; after negation, all four usually become de or d’: pas de pain, pas d’eau.
partitive articlenegation de· hover a highlighted word for its label
The four partitive forms
The choice is mechanical once you know the noun. Masculine singular takes du; feminine singular takes de la; a vowel sound takes de l’; plural takes des. If the noun’s gender is the problem, solve that first on the noun gender page, then come back to the article.
| Noun type | Partitive article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | du | du pain |
| feminine singular | de la | de la soupe |
| singular beginning with a vowel sound (incl. most mute h) | de l’ | de l’eau |
| plural | des | des fruits |
She is buying bread and jam.
— Du matches masculine pain; de la matches feminine confiture.
I’m drinking water.
— A vowel sound triggers de l’eau, whatever the noun’s gender.
We’re buying vegetables for dinner.
— Plural amount: des.
Why English speakers drop it
English can say "I want coffee", "she eats soup", or "they bought flowers" with no article at all. French does not like a bare noun in that slot. If you mean an unspecified amount, you add the partitive article. This is why French sentences often seem to have an extra little word after verbs like acheter, manger, boire, prendre, and vouloir.
I would like some coffee, please.
— Here you are asking for an unspecified amount of coffee, not ordering one cup.
The children are eating soup.
— Soup is feminine: de la soupe.
Negation: pas de
After a negative, the partitive usually collapses to de or d’. The idea changes from "some" to "not any":
Je bois du café. Je ne bois pas de café.
This rule also applies to plural des. In an ordinary sentence, say:
Je n’ai pas de questions.
With verbs other than être, keeping des after negation is possible only for a contrast, as in "not those questions, other ones". After être, the article always stays:
Ce n’est pas du café, c’est du thé.
I don’t drink coffee in the evening.
— Negative sentence: du becomes de.
There aren’t any trains today.
— Plural des also becomes de after negation.
Abstract things take partitives too
Partitives are not only for food. French also "scoops" an amount of courage, luck, patience, work, noise, sun, or money. English usually treats these nouns as abstract and leaves them bare; French still often uses du, de la, or de l’.
You need courage.
— Courage is masculine: du courage.
She’s lucky today.
— Chance is feminine: de la chance — French literally says she "has some luck".
There is noise in the street.
— Bruit is masculine: du bruit.
Du as "some" vs du as de + le
The word du has two jobs. Sometimes it is the partitive article, meaning "some":
Je mange du fromage.
Sometimes it is a contraction of de + le, meaning "of the" or "from the":
La porte du garage est ouverte.
The test is meaning, not spelling. Can you hear "some"? It is partitive. Does it mean "of the" before a specific masculine noun? It belongs with definite articles and contractions.
Quantities are another boundary. After words like beaucoup, trop, assez, or combien, French uses plain de, not du or de la; that is covered in expressions of quantity.
I’m eating cheese from the market.
— First du means "some"; second du means "from the" market.
Common mistakes
✗Je voudrais pain, s’il vous plaît.
✓Je voudrais du pain, s’il vous plaît.
French normally needs a partitive article when you ask for an unspecified amount.
✗Elle mange du soupe.
✓Elle mange de la soupe.
Soupe is feminine, so the partitive form is de la, not du.
✗Je ne bois pas du café.
✓Je ne bois pas de café.
After negation, du, de la, de l’ and des usually become de.
✗Il n’y a pas des places.
✓Il n’y a pas de places.
The plural partitive des also becomes de after negation.
Check yourself
1 / 4Elle achète ___ fromage.
2 / 4Je voudrais ___ eau.
3 / 4Nous n’avons pas ___ pain.
4 / 4Elle a ___ patience avec les enfants.
Frequently asked questions
What are partitive articles in French?
Partitive articles are du, de la, de l’ and des when they mean "some" or "an amount of". French uses them before many nouns where English uses no article: je bois du thé, elle a de la chance.
What is the difference between du and de la?
Du goes before masculine singular nouns, while de la goes before feminine singular nouns. The meaning is the same; the noun’s gender decides the form.
Why does du become de after pas?
Negation changes "some" into "not any", and standard French expresses that with de: je mange du pain, je ne mange pas de pain. The same happens with de la, de l’ and des. After être, however, the article stays: ce n’est pas du café.
Is du always a partitive article?
No. Du can mean "some" as a partitive article, but it can also be the contraction of de + le, meaning "of the" or "from the". La porte du restaurant is de + le; je prends du café is partitive.
Is des a partitive article or an indefinite article?
It can be either. For beginner use, the practical form is the same: use des before plural nouns when English would say "some" or nothing: des pommes, des questions, des amis.
Memory tip
Ask whether you are taking a scoop, portion, or unspecified amount. If yes, choose the form by the next noun: du for masculine, de la for feminine, de l’ before a vowel sound, des for plural.
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