Français — Partitive articles

The partitive articles du, de la, de l' and des express an unspecified quantity of something uncountable: je mange du pain, de la confiture.

How it works

✓ Rule

The form agrees with the noun's gender and its first sound: du before a masculine noun (du pain), de la before a feminine noun (de la confiture), de l' before any noun starting with a vowel or mute h (de l'eau, de l'huile), and des before a plural (des épinards).

Forms and examples

Partitive articles by context
Article	Used before	Example
du	a masculine uncountable noun	Je mange du pain.
de la	a feminine uncountable noun	Je prends de la confiture.
de l'	a noun starting with a vowel or mute h	Je bois de l'eau.
des	a plural mass/quantity noun	Je mange des épinards.
de / d'	after a negation (partitive drops)	Je ne mange pas de pain.
le / la	the whole thing or a general liking (definite, not partitive)	J'aime le pain.

Good to know

⚠ Note

Don't confuse the three articles. The partitive means 'some': je mange du pain (some bread). The definite le/la names the whole thing or a general taste: j'aime le pain (I like bread in general). The indefinite un/une counts one unit: je mange un pain (one loaf). After a negation, the partitive becomes de: je ne mange pas de pain.