1 The basic rules
- du, de la, de l’ and des can all be used to give information about the amount or quantity of a particular thing. They are often translated into English as some or any.
- In French, you choose between du, de la, de l’ and des, depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
| with masculine noun | with feminine noun |
Singular | du (de l’) | de la (de l’) |
Plural | des | des |
Tipde + le and de la change to de l’ when they are used in front of a word starting with a vowel, most words starting with h, and the French word y.
- du is used in front of masculine singular nouns.
du beurre | (some/any) butter |
du jus d’orange | (some/any) orange juice |
- Note that du is also a combination of de + le and has other meanings, such as saying who something belongs to or where something is from.
- de la is used in front of feminine singular nouns.
de la viande | (some/any) meat |
de la margarine | (some/any) margarine |
- de l’ is used in front of singular nouns that start with a vowel and most nouns starting with h, whether they are masculine or feminine.
de l’argent (masculine) | (some/any) money |
de l’eau (feminine) | (some/any) water |
de l’herbe (feminine) | (some/any) grass |
- des is used in front of plural nouns, whether they are masculine or feminine and whatever letter they start with.
des gâteaux | (some/any) cakes |
des lettres | (some/any) letters |
des hôtels | (some/any) hotels |
- Note that des is also a combination of de + les and has other meanings, such as saying who something belongs to or where something is from.
3 The meaning of du, de la, de l’ and des
- du, de la, de l’ and des are often translated into English as some or any, but there are times when no word is used in English to translate the French.
Il me doit de l’argent. | He owes me (some) money. |
Je vais acheter de la farine et du beurre pour faire un gâteau. | I’m going to buy (some) flour and butter to make a cake. |
Est-ce qu’il y a des lettres pour moi? | Are there any letters for me? |
Elle ne veut pas de beurre. | She doesn’t want any butter. |
Je ne prends pas de lait. | I don’t take milk. |
TipRemember that du, de la, de l’ and des can NEVER be missed out in French, even if there is no word in English.
Key points- With masculine singular nouns → use du.
- With feminine singular nouns → use de la.
- With singular nouns starting with a vowel and some nouns beginning with h → use de l’.
- With plural nouns → use des.
- du, de la, de l’ and des → change to de or d’ in negative sentences.