SUMMARY

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To review numbers 0 - 999 999, go to the Vocabulary -Unit 0 page.

There are three relative pronouns in French: qui, que, and où. There use is quite different as in English. For 1020, we will work on the easiest: qui (prononced /ki/).

What are partitives?

When you talk about food, you want to specify is you ate the entirety of something, a part of it, etc. Compare the following examples:

• Je mange une pizza
  I'm eating a pizza
  -> one whole random pizza

• Je mange la pizza.
  I’m eating the pizza.
  -> the whole pizza

• Je mange de la pizza.
  I’m eating some pizza.
  -> some slices 

In 1010, we have learned how to use indefinite articles (un, une, des) for random, un-specific things and definite articles (le, la, l', les) for specific things and generalities. 

Now, we are adding "partitives articles": when you don't have a whole thing, but a part of it.  And for this, we will use the prepositions du, de la or de l', depending on the following noun gender.

How do they work?

Partitive articles are the preposition DE + le / la /l’  . Therefore, like always, they depend on the gender of the noun following them.

Careful, as we have seen before in a different context, DE morphs according to the model below: 

When to use partitive?

You use partitive when you are talking about a part of a whole. This means that you use it when you are implying you had a slice of something, a few / a little of something… and also with things that you can’t really count (like liquids, or rice, bread..).

With food, you could use le/la/les, un/une/des, or the partitive, but each means something slightly different. Compare the Following sentences.

Therefore, often, it often depends on context.

Why no plural form?
Partitives are used to talk about the part of a whole. So if you eat more than one something, you ate several wholes. So it's not partives anymore! In English, you'd say some, or several.  You can also give an actual number.

• Il mange des croissants.      -->     plural of un/une              
  He eats some/several croissants.

• Il mange quatre croissants.
  He eats four croissants.

And in the negative?
Well if you didn't eat any, you ate nether a part nor a whole, so you can't use partitives. If you remember, you have learned in 1010 that after a negated verb or an expression of quantity (combien, beaucoup, un peu, trop…) you always use DE alone.

• Tu ne veux pas de café ?
  You don’t want coffee?

• Tu as trop de café ?
  You have too much coffee?

• Il boit beaucoup de café ?
  Does he drink a lot of coffee?

Fact: you don't JUST use partitives when you talk about food - although it's the most common usage. Another possibilitie is when you talk about activities! 

• Je fais de l'escalade
  I'm doing some climbing

--> makes sense, no? you're not doing "the" climbing or "all the" climbing... you dong a little bit of it :D 

How to decide?!

Oh my, between the definite, indefinite, partitives, and negative/quantities.... so much possibilities !
Here is a little flow chart to help you decide - until it becomes more natural for you.

• It is a negation --> de

• it is a quantity --> de

• It's a specific number --> use a specfic number in French too.

• In English, you'd say "a/an" --> un / une

• In English, you'd say "the" --> le / la / l'

• There is no article in English...

  • • It is plural

      • You could  say "all the" in English --> les

      • You could say "some" or "several" --> des

    • It is singular

      • You are talking about a whole specific item, maybe previously mentioned? --> le / la / l'

      • You are talking  about all of those items in general, as in talking about likes and dislikes   --> le / la / l'

      • You are talking about a part of something and  you could say "some" in English  --> du / de la / de l'

Talking about quantities

If you are giving a specific number, just put the number and then the product.

• Je voudrais trois salades, s'il vous plaît!
  I would like three salads, please.

In that case, not that the number replaces the determiner (un, une, des, le, la, l', les...)

If you are giving a quantity, the formula is  "[quantity] de [product]".
We have already seen some of those in 1010: beaucoup de, un peu de, pas de...

• Il y a un peu de fraises.
  There are a few strawberries.

• Je mange beaucoup de fast food.
  I eat a lot of fast food.

• Il n'y a pas de chocolat 😢
  There is no chocolate.

• Il ne boit pas d'alcool.
  He doesn't drink alcohol

But it also works for quantities with specific measurements

• Je voudrais 500g de fraises, s'il vous plaît !
  I would like 500g of strawberries, please!

• Je voudrais 3 livres de fraises, svp.
  I would like 3 lbs of strawberries, please.

Do you put a plural mark on the product?  Well, it depends. According to you, would the quantity mean more than ONE of said product? If yes, put a plural mark. If not, don't put a plural mark.

• 3kg de pommes de terre     vs.    100g de pomme de terre
  6.61lbs of potatoes               vs.     0.22lbs of potato

Two systems

In Europe, we use the metric system (g, m, l...)  like most of the international community. In the US, you use the imperial system (lbs, oz...). Here is a table showing the differences, if you are interested :)

What unit to use?

Weight:  le kilogramme (kg), le gramme (g), le milligramme (mg)
                la livre (lbs) is still used sometimes for specific food items, like butter. I have NO IDEA WHY.
                          NOTE: le/un livre = the/a book     vs. la /une livre = the pound
Volume (liquids): le litre (L), le millilitre (ml).

Units like la tasse (the cup) or la cuillère (the spoon) are rarely used in France, but it does happen for some recipes (usually from England or the US). More about this when we talk about recipes :)

Containers as measurement

You can also talk about the quantities in a recipient. You then also use the formula "[quantity] de [produce]". Here are some examples:

• une bouteille d'eau
  a bottle of water

• un sac de cerises
  a bag of cherries

• un sachet de thé
  a (individual & tiny) bag of tea

• une boîte de petits pois
  a box / a can of peas

Pay attention to the gender of the container though... UNE bouteille but UN sac :/

Of course, if you replace that number by a number higher than one, gender no longer applies. Do add a plural mark on the recipient (usually S, unpronounced).
une bouteille -> deux bouteilles.

We will talk more about those type of quantities later.

We have previously seen direct object pronouns (see Grammar & Structures - unit 2). We used them when the direct object is:

• ...names or people

  • • Je regarde Annie --> je la regarde

    • Ils adores ses amis --> il les adore

• ...to replace objet/ food items (that are direct objects)

  • • Je mange le gateau de maman --> je le mange

    • Vous ne buvez pas votre verre ? --> vous ne le buvez pas ?

However, when the direct object is a quantity, you cannot use those pronouns. You have to use something a little bit diffrent: EN + quantity.

• Vous regardez des dessins animés. (quantity= some)   ---> Il en regarde.
      You are watching (some) cartoons.    ---> You are watching some (of them)

• Je mange une pomme (quantity = 1)  ---> J'en mange une.
      I'm eating an/one apple. ---> I'm eating one (of them)

• Vous avez beaucoup de salades différentes! (quantity= beaucoup)  ---> vous en avez beaucoup!
      You have a lot of different salads! ---> You have a lot (of them)!

• Il achète trois bouteilles d'eau. (quantity = 3 bottles or 3 )   ---> Il en achète 3 bouteilles. // Il en achète 3.
      He is buying three bottles of water. ---> He is buying three bottle (of it). // He is buying three (of them).

Therefore, EN is used when direct object are: