From https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des-quantity/
1) When the noun is unspecific, de stands alone after adjectives and prepositional phrases as well as after most adverbs of quantity and expressions of quantity.
2) However, if the noun after de refers to specific people or things de must be used with the definite article.
| Unspecific noun | Specific noun |
| Il a beaucoup de questions. He has a lot of questions. | Beaucoup des questions sont intéressantes. A lot of the questions are interesting. (specific or previously mentioned questions) |
| Peu d’étudiants sont ici. Few students are here. | Peu des étudiants de Lisette sont ici. Few of Lisette’s students are here. (not students in general, but specifically Lisette’s students) |
| J’ai mangé moins de soupe que Francine. I ate less soup than Francine. | Le repas que tu as préparé est délicieux, mais j’ai mangé moins de la soupe que lui. The meal that you made is delicious, but I ate less of the soup than he did. (soup from this previously mentioned meal) |
| Je veux un verre de vin. I want a glass of wine. | Je veux un verre du vin que tu as acheté. I want a glass of the wine that you bought. (specifically what you bought) |
Need to master these:
No comments:
Post a Comment