French grammar · Intermediate
Quantities in French: When De Loses Its Article
After a word of quantity, French uses plain de with no article: beaucoup de temps, un kilo de pommes, trop de bruit. The partitive du, de la, and des only appear when nothing measures the noun, and a small group of noun-based quantities such as la plupart des and la moitié du keep their article.
J'ai acheté beaucoup de fruits et un peu de fromage.
I bought a lot of fruit and a little cheese.
What it is
French normally insists on an article in front of a noun, and for an unmeasured amount that article is the partitive du, de la, or des. The moment you put a quantity word in front, that partitive collapses into a bare de. The measuring word has already told you how much, so the article has nothing left to do.
Je bois du café, mais je bois trop de café. — I drink coffee, but I drink too much coffee.
How to spot it
Look at the word immediately before de. If it measures, counts, or weighs, what follows is de plus a bare noun. If nothing measures, you need the full partitive.
- beaucoup de patience — a lot of patience
- une bouteille d'eau — a bottle of water
- de la patience — some patience (nothing measures it)
- la plupart des gens — most people (the exception: article kept)
De elides to d' before a vowel, so assez d'argent and un peu d'huile, never assez de argent.
De vs. Du De La Des Quantity Quick Reference
What follows the main quantity words
| Quantity word | What follows | Example |
|---|---|---|
| beaucoup | de + bare noun | beaucoup de temps — a lot of time |
| un peu / peu | de + bare noun | un peu de sel — a little salt |
| trop / assez | de + bare noun | assez d'argent — enough money |
| tant / autant | de + bare noun | autant de travail — as much work |
| un kilo / une tasse | de + bare noun | une tasse de thé — a cup of tea |
| la plupart | de + article | la plupart des élèves — most of the pupils |
| la moitié / la majorité | de + article | la moitié du gâteau — half the cake |
| bien | de + article | bien des fois — many a time |
Common De vs. Du De La Des Quantity Examples in French
The same noun, measured in different ways:
Adverbs of Quantity
- Il y a beaucoup de monde ce soir.
- There are a lot of people tonight.
- Tu fais trop de bruit.
- You're making too much noise.
- Nous avons assez de place.
- We have enough room.
- Peu de gens le savent.
- Few people know that.
- Elle a tant d'énergie.
- She has so much energy.
These are the commonest case and the most reliable: adverb of quantity, then de, then the bare noun.
Containers, Weights, and Measures
- un kilo de pommes de terre
- a kilo of potatoes
- une bouteille de vin rouge
- a bottle of red wine
- une tranche de jambon
- a slice of ham
- un verre d'eau glacée
- a glass of iced water
- deux litres de lait
- two litres of milk
The container word carries the number, so the noun after de stays bare no matter how large the quantity is.
After a Negative
- Je n'ai pas de voiture.
- I don't have a car.
- Il n'y a plus de pain.
- There's no bread left.
- Elle ne boit jamais de café.
- She never drinks coffee.
- Nous n'avons pas d'idées.
- We don't have any ideas.
A negative is a kind of quantity too, namely zero, so du, de la, and des all reduce to de after ne… pas.
Where the Article Survives
- la plupart des étudiants
- most of the students
- la moitié de la classe
- half the class
- une partie des invités
- some of the guests
- bien des problèmes
- a good many problems
- encore du café
- more coffee
These are nouns rather than adverbs of quantity, so de is doing its ordinary of job and the article stays.
How the Quantity Rule Works
One principle covers the regular cases, and knowing why the exceptions behave differently means you don't have to memorise them as a list.
The Quantity Word Replaces the Article
Du, de la, and des exist to say an unspecified amount. Once beaucoup or un kilo has specified the amount, the partitive is redundant, and French drops it rather than stacking two quantity markers.
Il mange du chocolat, il mange beaucoup de chocolat.
He eats chocolate; he eats a lot of chocolate.
Quantity word in, article out.
The Noun's Gender and Number Stop Mattering
Because there is no article, nothing has to agree. Beaucoup de sucre, beaucoup de farine, and beaucoup de légumes all use the same de, whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.
Elle a acheté beaucoup de légumes et peu de viande.
She bought a lot of vegetables and not much meat.
One de for every gender and number.
De Elides but Never Contracts Here
Before a vowel or a mute h, de becomes d'. What it cannot do is turn into du or des, because there is no article for it to merge with. If you see du after beaucoup, an article has crept back in.
Il a besoin d'aide et de beaucoup d'encouragement.
He needs help and a lot of encouragement.
d' yes, du no.
Noun-Based Quantities Behave Like Ordinary Nouns
La plupart, la moitié, la majorité, and une partie are nouns with their own article. When they take de, that de introduces a definite group, so it merges with the group's article: la plupart + de + les gens gives la plupart des gens.
La majorité des Français prennent leurs vacances en août.
Most French people take their holidays in August.
Noun quantity → de + article.
A Specific Noun Brings Its Article Back
If the noun after the quantity is a particular, identified thing rather than a substance in general, the definite article returns and de contracts with it. Beaucoup de vin is a lot of wine; beaucoup du vin que tu as apporté is a lot of the wine you brought.
J'ai bu un verre du vin que tu as apporté.
I drank a glass of the wine you brought.
Identified noun → du, de la, des return.
Common Mistakes with De vs. Du De La Des Quantity
Incorrect: J'ai beaucoup des amis à Lyon. — I have a lot of friends in Lyon.
Correct: J'ai beaucoup d'amis à Lyon. — I have a lot of friends in Lyon.
Beaucoup already gives the quantity, so the plural article des has no job. Before the vowel of amis, de simply elides to d'.
Incorrect: Je n'ai pas du temps. — I don't have time.
Correct: Je n'ai pas de temps. — I don't have time.
A negative reduces du, de la, and des to plain de. Learners who have just mastered j'ai du temps often carry the du across into the negative.
Incorrect: La plupart de gens sont d'accord. — Most people agree.
Correct: La plupart des gens sont d'accord. — Most people agree.
La plupart is a noun, not an adverb of quantity, so it takes de plus the article: de + les gives des. This one runs opposite to the beaucoup rule.
Incorrect: Donnez-moi un kilo des tomates. — Give me a kilo of tomatoes.
Correct: Donnez-moi un kilo de tomates. — Give me a kilo of tomatoes.
A weight is a measurement, so the noun after de stays bare. Des would mean a kilo of the tomatoes, some particular ones already under discussion.
Quantities That Keep Their Article
A handful of expressions break the bare-noun pattern, and each of them breaks it for a reason worth knowing.
Quantities that are really nouns
La plupart, la moitié, la majorité, and une partie are nouns, so their de introduces a definite group and merges with its article.
- la plupart des touristes
- most of the tourists
- la moitié du travail
- half the work
- la majorité des voix
- the majority of the votes
- une partie de la nuit
- part of the night
La plupart also drags the verb into the plural: la plupart des gens pensent, not pense.
Bien des and encore du
Bien meaning many and encore meaning more both keep the article, unlike beaucoup and plus.
- bien des fois
- many a time
- bien des choses ont changé
- a good many things have changed
- Tu veux encore du thé ?
- Would you like more tea?
- Il reste encore des places.
- There are still seats left.
Bien des is a slightly literary alternative to beaucoup de, and it is the one quantity adverb that keeps the article.
When the noun is a specific, identified one
If you mean some of these particular things rather than some of this substance, the definite article comes back and de contracts with it.
- Beaucoup des élèves de ma classe sont bilingues.
- Many of the pupils in my class are bilingual.
- J'ai lu la moitié des livres qu'il m'a prêtés.
- I read half the books he lent me.
- Il a mangé un peu du gâteau d'anniversaire.
- He ate a little of the birthday cake.
The English of the is a good signal: beaucoup de students in general, beaucoup des students you have already identified.
De vs. Du De La Des Quantity FAQs
- Why is it beaucoup de and not beaucoup du?
- Du is a contraction of de plus the article le, and after a quantity word French drops the article entirely. Beaucoup already says how much, so nothing is left for le to do: beaucoup de sucre, beaucoup de temps, beaucoup d'eau.
- When do I keep the article after a quantity word?
- When the quantity is itself a noun, as in la plupart des gens, la moitié du gâteau, or la majorité des votes, and with the two set phrases bien des and encore du. You also keep it when the noun is a specific one: beaucoup des élèves de ma classe, many of the pupils in my class.
- Does the negative rule work the same way?
- Yes, and for the same reason. Ne… pas gives a quantity of zero, so du, de la, and des all become de: je bois du lait becomes je ne bois pas de lait. The definite articles le, la, and les are untouched, so je n'aime pas le lait keeps its le.
- Is it de or d' before a vowel?
- Always d'. Assez d'argent, un peu d'huile, trop d'informations. The apostrophe is compulsory in writing, and in speech the two words run together as a single syllable.
- How do I say most in French?
- La plupart de plus the article, and the verb goes plural even though la plupart looks singular: la plupart des Français préfèrent le train. For most of a single thing, use la plus grande partie de: la plus grande partie du budget.