Introducing

Some and Any

1. Some

French has four ways of saying some

du

de la

de l’

des

How do you decide which one to choose?

du

de la

de l’

des

Step 1Countable or Uncountable?

In the mind of a French speaker, everything that exists is either countable or uncountable.

Countable or Uncountable?

A Noun is countable if it makes sense to put a number in front of it.

dogchaircarboycarrotflower

234567

Countable or Uncountable?

A Noun is countable if it makes sense to put a number in front of it.

dogschairscarsboyscarrotsflowers

234567

Countable or Uncountable?

A Noun is uncountable if it does not usually make sense to put a number in front of it.

watercreamricebreadmeatair

234567

Countable or Uncountable?

A Noun is uncountable if it does not usually make sense to put a number in front of it.

waterscreamsricesbreadsmeatsairs

234567

Countables

Saying some in front of countables is easy.

Watch!

dogschairscarsboyscarrotsflowers

Countables

Saying some in front of countables is easy.

Watch!

chienschaisesvoituresgarçonscarottesfleurs

desdesdesdesdesdes

Countables

Saying some in front of countables is easy.

Watch!

chienschaisesvoituresgarçonscarottesfleurs

desdesdesdesdesdes

Uncountables

Saying some in front of uncountables takes a little more thought.

Uncountables

Uncountables will always be singular. What you need to know is whether they aremasculine or feminine.

Masculine Feminine

painrizair

crèmeviandeeau

Uncountables

Masculine Feminine

painrizair

crèmeviandeeau

dudu

de lade la

With masculine Nouns, some is du

With feminine Nouns, some is de la

But, if the Noun begins with a vowel, use de l’

de l’ de l’

SummaryHow to say “some”

Countables

Uncountables

Use des in front of the plural form of the Noun,

e.g. des carottes

Use du / de la / de l’ in front of the singular form of the Noun.

e.g. du café , de la soupe

Hybrids

Some Nouns can be either countable or uncountable depending on how you want to talk about them.

Here are some examples:

Hybrids

du café some coffee, i.e a quantity of liquid or beans.des cafés some coffees, i.e several cups of coffee.

du poisson some fish, i.e some meat taken from a fish.des poissons some fish, i.e several individual fishes.

de la confiture some jam, i.e. a quantity of jam.des confitures some jams, i.e. a selection of different jams.

de l’eau minérale some mineral water, i.e. an undefined quantity.

des eaux minérales a number of glasses or bottles of mineral water.

In English

you can put a Noun immediately after expressions like these:

I’d like…

Have you got…?

I’ll have……?

sweets

lemonade

chicken

potatoes

beer

In French, you must use one of du, de la, de l’ or des in front of the Noun.

Try these

Je voudrais…

Avez-vous…?

Je prends…

Y a-t-il…?

…bonbons

des bonbons

…limonade

de la limonade

…pommes de terre

des pommes de terre

…céréales

des céréales

…café

du café

Try these

Je voudrais…

Avez-vous…?

Je prends…

Y a-t-il…?

…dessert

du dessert

…pâtes

des pâtes

…sucre

du sucre

…eau

de l’eau

…oeufs

des oeufs

2. Any

In English, we change some to any after a negative Verb.

I want some coffee I don’t want any coffee.

He’s got some money He hasn’t got any money.

I can see someone I can’t see anyone.

Something similar happens in French after a negative Verb.

dude lade l’des

all become

de

d’before a vowel

Can you make these negative?

Je veux du pain.

Can you make these negative?

Je veux du pain.

Je ne veux pas de pain.

Can you make these negative?

Je prends de l’eau.

Can you make these negative?

Je prends de l’eau.

Je ne prends pas d’eau.

Can you make these negative?

J’ai des frères.

Can you make these negative?

J’ai des frères.

Je n’ai pas de frères.

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Avez-vous du vin?

Non, nous…

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Avez-vous du vin?

Non, nous n’avons pas de vin.

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Voulez-vous des spaghettis?

Non, merci, je…

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Voulez-vous des spaghettis?

Non, merci, je ne veux pas de spaghettis.

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Veux-tu de l’eau?

Non, merci, je …

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Veux-tu de l’eau?

Non, merci, je ne veux pas d’eau.

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Tu prends de la bière?

Merci. Je ne prends …

Can you answer thesein the negative?

Tu prends de la bière?

Merci. Je ne prends pas de bière.

Now try inventing some

of your own

Summary

You have learnt tosay “some” and “any”

usingdu, de la, de l’, des, de & d’

in simple sentencesbased on Verbs

in the Present Tense

C’est tout !

© D J Ash 2001

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