What's the difference between de and du in French?

Du is de plus the masculine article le, so it means some of a masculine noun (du pain) or of the (le livre du professeur). Plain de appears when something in front of the noun strips the article away: after a negative (pas de pain) or a quantity (beaucoup de pain).

When do du, de la, and des become just de?

Three situations. After a negative other than être: je n'ai pas de temps. After any expression of quantity or measure: trop de bruit, un litre de lait. And in careful written French, before a plural adjective that precedes its noun: de grandes maisons.

Why is it de la but du and not de le?

De and le contract into du, and de and les contract into des, because French avoids the vowel clash. De and la don't clash, so they stay separate. Before a vowel, de la shortens to de l' instead: de l'eau.

Is des a partitive article or a contraction?

Both, and that's what makes it confusing. Des is the plural partitive (je mange des pommes, I'm eating some apples) and it's also de plus les (la couleur des murs, the colour of the walls). Context tells you which, and you don't have to choose differently when writing them.

Do I use de or du after a verb like parler?

It depends on whether a definite article follows. Je parle de musique means I talk about music in general; je parle du film means I'm talking about the film, with de and le contracting into du. The verb takes de either way, the article is a separate decision.

French grammar · Beginner

De vs. Du, De La, and Des in French: Which One to Use When

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Du, de la, and des are the partitive articles, meaning some or an unspecified amount. Plain de replaces all three after a negative, after an expression of quantity, and before a plural adjective. The choice is not about meaning, it's about what comes before the noun.

Je mange du pain, mais je ne mange pas de gâteau.

I'm eating some bread, but I'm not eating any cake.

What it is

Du, de la, and des are what you use to say some of something: du pain, de la confiture, des pommes. Plain de is what those forms collapse into when something in front of the noun demands it, most often a negative or a quantity word.

J'ai des amis. Je n'ai pas d'amis. Beaucoup d'amis. — I have friends. I don't have friends. Lots of friends. Same noun, three forms, driven entirely by what precedes it.

How to spot it

Look to the left of the noun, not at the noun itself. If there's a negation or a quantity expression there, you need bare de.

Je bois du café. — I drink coffee. (masculine partitive)
Je bois de la bière. — I drink beer. (feminine partitive)
Je ne bois pas de café. — I don't drink coffee. (negative → de)
Je bois beaucoup de café. — I drink a lot of coffee. (quantity → de)

De becomes d' before a vowel or a mute h: pas d'eau, beaucoup d'amis, peu d'histoires.

De vs. Du / De La / Des Quick Reference

Which form goes where

Context	Form	Example
Masculine noun	du	du pain — some bread
Feminine noun	de la	de la confiture — some jam
Before a vowel	de l'	de l'eau — some water
Plural noun	des	des pommes — some apples
After a negative	de	pas de pain — no bread
After a quantity	de	beaucoup de pain — a lot of bread
After a container	de	un verre de vin — a glass of wine
Plural adj. before noun	de	de beaux jardins — beautiful gardens

Common De vs. Du / De La / Des Examples in French

The same noun across every context that changes the article:

Partitive: Some of Something

Je voudrais du fromage.: I'd like some cheese.
Elle prend de la soupe.: She's having some soup.
Tu veux de l'eau ?: Do you want some water?
On achète des tomates.: We're buying some tomatoes.

English can drop some entirely (I'd like cheese), French cannot. The partitive is obligatory.

After a Negative: Always De

Je n'ai pas de fromage.: I don't have any cheese.
Il n'y a plus de soupe.: There's no more soup.
Je ne veux jamais de dessert.: I never want dessert.
Elle n'a pas d'argent.: She doesn't have any money.

Du, de la, des, un, and une all become de after a negative. The one exception is être: ce n'est pas du fromage.

After a Quantity: Also De

beaucoup de travail: a lot of work
un peu de sucre: a little sugar
trop de bruit: too much noise
un kilo de pommes: a kilo of apples
une bouteille de vin: a bottle of wine

Bien des is the exception that proves the rule: bien des gens, meaning many people, keeps des.

Des That Isn't Partitive

la couleur des murs: the colour of the walls (de + les)
Je viens des États-Unis.: I'm from the United States. (de + les)
le livre du professeur: the teacher's book (de + le)
Je parle du film.: I'm talking about the film. (de + le)

Du and des are also just de plus a definite article. Same spelling, entirely different job: possession, origin, or the object of a verb that takes de.

The Four Rules That Decide the Form

Every choice between de and du, de la, or des comes down to one of these. Work through them in order.

Default: Match the Noun's Gender and Number

With no negation and no quantity word, use the partitive that agrees with the noun: du for masculine, de la for feminine, de l' before a vowel, des for plural.

Il y a du vent et de la pluie.

There's wind and rain.

du / de la / de l' / des.

A Negative Flattens Everything to De

After ne... pas, ne... plus, ne... jamais, and the rest, the partitive and indefinite articles all reduce to de. Gender and number stop mattering entirely.

Je n'ai pas de voiture et pas d'enfants.

I don't have a car or children.

Negative → de, always.

Except After Être

Negated être keeps the full article, because it identifies rather than quantifies. Ce n'est pas un problème, not *ce n'est pas de problème.

Ce n'est pas du café, c'est du thé.

That's not coffee, it's tea.

être resists the de rule.

Quantity Words Also Force De

Anything that measures (beaucoup, peu, trop, assez, plus, moins) or contains (un verre, une boîte, un kilo) is followed by de with no article at all.

Assez de questions, un peu de silence.

Enough questions, a bit of quiet.

Quantity + de + bare noun.

A Preceding Plural Adjective Turns Des Into De

When an adjective comes before a plural noun, careful French uses de rather than des. This rule is widely relaxed in speech but still expected in writing.

Il y a de beaux jardins dans cette ville.

There are beautiful gardens in this town.

de + adjective + plural noun.

Common Mistakes with De vs. Du / De La / Des

Incorrect: Je n'ai pas du pain. — I don't have any bread.

Correct: Je n'ai pas de pain. — I don't have any bread.

After a negative, du, de la, des, un, and une all collapse to de. The only verb that escapes this is être.

Incorrect: beaucoup des gens — a lot of people

Correct: beaucoup de gens — a lot of people

Expressions of quantity take bare de with no article. Beaucoup des only works when you mean many of the specific ones already mentioned: beaucoup des gens que j'ai rencontrés.

Incorrect: Je mange pain. — I eat bread.

Correct: Je mange du pain. — I eat bread.

English drops the article before an uncountable noun; French requires the partitive. A bare noun after a verb like manger will read as incomplete.

Incorrect: le livre de le professeur — the teacher's book

Correct: le livre du professeur — the teacher's book

De and le must contract into du. The uncontracted form isn't a stylistic option, it's ungrammatical. The same applies to de + les becoming des.

De in Expressions You'll Meet Constantly

Beyond the article system, de is the workhorse preposition of French, and these uses are worth recognising as a group.

Possession and belonging

French has no apostrophe-s. Ownership is expressed with de, with the owner second.

le livre de Marie: Marie's book
la voiture de mon père: my father's car
les clés de la maison: the house keys

Word order is the opposite of English: the thing owned comes first.

Origin and material

De marks where something comes from and what it's made of.

Je viens de Lyon.: I'm from Lyon.
une table de bois: a wooden table
un jus d'orange: an orange juice

For material, en is also common and often more natural: une table en bois.

Verbs that require de before an infinitive

A large group of verbs takes de before a following infinitive. There's no way to predict which, so they're learned as pairs.

J'essaie de comprendre.: I'm trying to understand.
Elle a décidé de partir.: She decided to leave.
On a fini de manger.: We've finished eating.

Compare the à group: je commence à comprendre, j'apprends à nager.

De vs. Du / De La / Des FAQs

What's the difference between de and du in French?: Du is de plus the masculine article le, so it means some of a masculine noun (du pain) or of the (le livre du professeur). Plain de appears when something in front of the noun strips the article away: after a negative (pas de pain) or a quantity (beaucoup de pain).
When do du, de la, and des become just de?: Three situations. After a negative other than être: je n'ai pas de temps. After any expression of quantity or measure: trop de bruit, un litre de lait. And in careful written French, before a plural adjective that precedes its noun: de grandes maisons.
Why is it de la but du and not de le?: De and le contract into du, and de and les contract into des, because French avoids the vowel clash. De and la don't clash, so they stay separate. Before a vowel, de la shortens to de l' instead: de l'eau.
Is des a partitive article or a contraction?: Both, and that's what makes it confusing. Des is the plural partitive (je mange des pommes, I'm eating some apples) and it's also de plus les (la couleur des murs, the colour of the walls). Context tells you which, and you don't have to choose differently when writing them.
Do I use de or du after a verb like parler?: It depends on whether a definite article follows. Je parle de musique means I talk about music in general; je parle du film means I'm talking about the film, with de and le contracting into du. The verb takes de either way, the article is a separate decision.