63 Comments
Is "de" used only for uncountable nouns? And "un"/"une" for countable ones?
If this is correct, "il a de la pomme" is wrong, as well as "il a une eau".
Am I right?
Yes, you are right, with a few contextual exceptions:
- cette rivière a une eau très propre (this river has a very clean water)
- tu es sale, tu as de la pomme sur la joue (you are dirty; you have some apple on your cheek)
But don't worry, as long as you have short sentences to translate, without any context, you can stick to the rules.
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It's not "de" it's De + article. (de la, du and des, because "du" is de+le and des is de+les)
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Countable nouns and uncountable nouns are not the same in French and in English. In French, it's better to talk about "indefinite quantity", because, even the notion of countable and uncoutable doesn't really exist (except for liquids), and you can still put articles in front of them. You can say "une eau", or "un lait" (a milk), depending on the context.
So, forget about "countable/uncountable" nouns in French, it doesn't really exist as you think. Only indeterminate quantity and "abstract nouns" makes sense in French grammar.
Je bois de l'eau = indefinite quantity.
Les eaux de la rivière sont rouges. The waters of this river are red.
yes it can, "il" can be a bucket, a tree, a dog... ie any masculine noun.
If it had been "il y a de l'eau" would it have translated to "there is some water"??
Why "il a de l'eau" gives an error when I translate it to "It has water"? I thought "It" meant "il" too!?!
Il can mean it but in any language you have to go by the context of the situation. "he has water" makes more sense in this sentence than "it has water". They want you to instinctively know when they're talking about a man or an object based off context clues.
Why is it: "de l'eau" yet the correct translation shows as he has water. Does "de l' " not mean some?
Whether the English sentence contains "some" or not, the meaning of the sentence is that the man is drinking a certain quantity of water. This is a partitive case where the French version requires preposition de + definite article: de l'eau, du vin, de la bière
Why is it that sometimes "de la" can be combined as "du" and sometimes not (also shown in your final examples) ?
Because if the masculine noun started with a vowel, for example 'alcool', it wouldn't sound right to have 'du alcool', so instead it stays as 'de l'alcool'. With masculine nouns that don't start with a vowel, such as 'pain' it would be shortened to 'du pain'.
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il a de l'eau = he/it has (some) water
il y a de l'eau = there is (some) water
So is it safe to say that in french, whenever there is a noun there is an article before it? article being: definite - le, la, les indefinite - un, une partitive - du, de la, de l', des
thanks for answers (:
When I hover over "de" it says that it means "some." Could "Il a de l'eau" also mean that he has some water?
Yes, and even "water" alone can be "de l'eau" if you mean an indefinite quantity of water.
Please use "du" before masculine nouns. E.g. Du fromage (some cheese), du lait (some milk), du pain (some bread). Please use "de la" before feminine nouns. E.g. De la glace (some ice-cream), de la salade (some salad), de la soupe (some soup). I hope the above examples help :)
No, not "some of", but just "some" it's more accurate. Don't translate the "de" as "of" here, it's a whole expression. "De la" = some.
It is not "de" but "de la" with the a elided in front of a word beginning with a vowel sound: de l'eau.
Du/de la/de l'/des are partitive articles meaning undetermined amount=(some). I put it within parentheses since the "some" is not always necessary in English whereas the partitive article is necessary in French.
Why did my phrase "He has the water" was corrected to "He has got water"? I know my answer should have included the word "some", but wasn't it said that the word "got" is optional? Why wasn't it corrected to "He has got some water" then?
Il a de l'eau = he has (got) (some) water.
both "got" and "some" are optional for the same exact meaning: he has an undefined quantity of uncountable water.
"he has THE water" is about specific water and back translates to "il a L'eau"
Why is necessary the "L' ", i mean, i guess that translate "He has the water" because is using the "L", but if it's only water (Not specific) may be "Il a eau", it's possible?
No, it is not, because you need an article.
• Try adding "some" in front of the singular object, and if it works, use the partitive article (du, de la, de l')
"he has water = he has some water = il a de l'eau" (preposition "de" + "la", elided to l', for phonetic reasons)
eau is feminine. (learn it like this: une eau).
de la is used with all feminine nouns starting with a consonant or an aspirate H
de l' is used with masculine or feminine nouns starting with a vowel or a non aspirate H
why isn't he has the water because of the l ? l´eau... L´aeuf is the egg... I don´t understand this part!
In the absence of any article in English:
• Try adding “in general” to the end of your sentence, and if it works, use the definite article (le, la, l', les).
Ex: Water is essential to life = water (in general) is essential to life (in general) => L'eau est essentielle à la vie.
• Try adding "some" in front of the singular object, and if it works, use the partitive article (du, de la, de l').
Ex: He has water = he has some water => il a de l'eau (fem)
• Try adding "more than one" in front of the plural object, and if it works, use the plural indefinite article (des).
Ex: These are clear waters = these are (more than one) clear water => Ce sont des eaux claires.
I'm on my computer and I have this question no matter how many times I say it it won't give it to me? I'm getting really frustrated and I have to skip it sometimes why does it not understand me when I say it when I say it perfectly clear? Also they should have the three strikes your out but don't lose a heart rule on computer because I've done it 25 times without passing. This is BS!
He has got the water? How waa I supposed to know to reply in british
What makes it "He has some water" as opposed to "He gets some water?" I'm confused. Thanks
I don't understand... Why would it be wrong to say "Il a l'eau" (or, maybe, "Il a eau")?
