Mastering Partitive Articles in French: A Complete Guide

When learning French, one of the trickiest but most useful concepts is the partitive article. Used to talk about uncountable or undefined quantities—like food, drink, or abstract concepts—partitive articles help you sound more natural and fluent. In this blog, we’ll explore what partitive articles are, how to form them, when to use them, and how they change depending on context. We’ll also look at common mistakes and give you 30 exercises with answers for practice.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Formation of Partitive Articles 3. Usage and Agreement 4. Special Cases and Exceptions 5. Common Mistakes to Avoid (Optional)

6. Exercises (30 Sentences with Answers)

1. Introduction

In English, we sometimes use words like “some” or “any” when referring to unspecified or uncountable quantities—like “some milk” or “some sugar.” In French, these are expressed using partitive articles, which are placed before uncountable nouns or mass nouns.

For example:

● Je veux du pain. (I want some bread.)

● Elle boit de l’eau. (She is drinking some water.)

2. Formation of Partitive Articles

French partitive articles are formed by combining the preposition de with the definite articles:

Gender/Number	Partitive Article	Used Before	Example
Masculine singular	du	consonant	du fromage (some cheese)
Feminine singular	de la	consonant	de la confiture (some jam)
Before vowel/h-mute	de l'	m. or f.	de l'eau (some water)
Plural	des	all plural nouns	des légumes (some vegetables)

3. Usage and Agreement of Partitive Articles in French

In French, when you're talking about something, especially things that can’t be counted individually (like water, coffee, rice), you use partitive articles. These articles are used to say "some" or "any" in English — but in French, you can’t skip the article like we often do in English 🔹 1. When to Use Partitive Articles

You use partitive articles when talking about:

✅ An unspecified quantity of something uncountable

● You're not saying how much — just some.

✅ A portion of something, not the whole

● You're referring to part of a larger amount. Examples:

• Je prends du café.

  • I’m having some coffee. (Not a specific amount, just a bit of it.)
    

• Elle mange de la soupe.

  • She eats some soup. (Not the whole pot!)
    

• Ils boivent de l’eau.

  • They drink some water. (Water is uncountable.)
    

• Nous avons acheté des fruits.

  • We bought some fruits. (A few fruits, but not all of them.)
    

🔹 2. Agreement with Gender and Number

Just like other articles in French, partitive articles agree with the noun in gender and number.

Gender/Number	Partitive Article	Example
Masculine singular	du	du pain (some bread)
Feminine singular	de la	de la confiture (some jam)
Starting with vowel/silent h	de l'	de l'eau (some water)
Plural	des	des légumes (some vegetables)

🔹 3. A Quick Tip: How to Spot When to Use It

Ask yourself:

“Can I count this item one by one?”

● If no (like water, milk, rice) ➡️ use a partitive article

● If yes (like apples, books), and you’re talking about some of them ➡️ use des

Important:

In negative sentences, partitive articles usually become de (or d’ before a vowel):

● Je prends du sucre. → Je ne prends pas de sucre.

(I’m not having any sugar.)

4. Special Cases and Exceptions

✅ 1. After Negation

● Partitive articles become de (or d’ before a vowel):

○ Je veux du pain → Je ne veux pas de pain.

○ Elle boit de l’eau → Elle ne boit pas d’eau.

✅ 2. After Expressions of Quantity

● Use de/d’ after expressions like beaucoup de, un peu de, assez de, etc.

○ Beaucoup de sucre (a lot of sugar)

○ Un peu d’huile (a bit of oil)

✅ 3. With Verbs Like "Aimer", "Détester", "Préférer" “Adorer”

● Use the definite articles (le, la, les) instead of partitive:

○ J’aime le chocolat. (I love chocolate)

○ Elle déteste les épinards. (She hates spinach)

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Je mange de la riz. ✅ Je mange du riz. (rice is masculine) ❌ Il boit des eau. ✅ Il boit de l’eau. (water is singular and begins with a vowel) ❌ Tu veux du pommes ? ✅ Tu veux des pommes ? (apples are plural) ❌ Je n’ai pas du sucre. ✅ Je n’ai pas de sucre. (after negation)

6. Exercises: 30 Sentences with Answers

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct partitive article: du / de la / de l’ / des / de / d’

1. Il mange ___ pain le matin.

✅ du

2. Elle boit ___ jus d’orange.

3. Nous avons acheté ___ pommes.

4. Tu prends ___ fromage ?

5. Je ne veux pas ___ chocolat.

6. Il y a ___ eau sur la table.

7. Elle a mis ___ sucre dans son café.

8. Vous voulez ___ salade ?

9. On boit toujours ___ thé après le repas.

10. Ils prennent ___ légumes au dîner.

11. Je ne mange jamais ___ viande.

12. Tu veux ___ confiture ?

13. Il a besoin ___ farine pour le gâteau.

14. Elle a préparé ___ soupe.

15. Je ne veux pas ___ lait.

16. Est-ce qu’il y a ___ sel ?

17. Nous avons mis ___ huile dans la poêle.

18. Je n’ai pas ___ œufs.

19. Elle boit toujours ___ eau minérale.

20. Il prépare ___ pâtes pour le déjeuner.

21. Vous achetez ___ bananes ?

22. Ils mangent beaucoup ___ chocolat.

23. Elle veut ___ poisson.

24. Tu prends un peu ___ riz ?

25. Il a cuisiné ___ poulet.

26. Elle ne boit jamais ___ soda.

27. Je voudrais ___ fruits frais.

28. Nous n’avons pas ___ beurre.

29. Il y a encore ___ confiture ?

30. Elle ne mange pas ___ fromage.