317. Contractions. The prepositions de and à +le and les, are always contracted as follows: de + le = du. de + les des. = à + le=au. NOTES.-1. No contraction takes place with la, l'. 2. Formerly en+les was con tracted to ès, a form still used in academical titles, e.g., 'Bachelier ès lettres,' 'Bachelor of Arts.' 318. Agreement and Repetition. The article agrees in gender and number with its noun, and is regularly repeated (as also de, à) before each noun or adjective denoting a distinctive object: Une maison et un jardin. Au bon et au mauvais côté. Le delta ou basse Égypte. A house and garden. On the good and bad side. The kind and pious priest. The Delta or Lower Egypt. a. The definite article is not repeated when a single adjective precedes nouns joined by et: Les principales villes et provinces The principal towns and provinces de la France. of France. b. Singular adjectives in apposition to a plural noun omit the article: Les langues française et anglaise. The French and English languages. Or: La langue française et la langue anglaise. La langue française et l'anglaise. c. A few expressions of collective force, like the following, are permissible, but are either not obligatory or are confined to set expressions: Les père et mère. Les lundi et mardi. Les trois et quatre avril. École des ponts et chaussées. The parents. (On) Mondays and Tuesdays. d. For the repetition of le, la, les with the superlative, see Comparison of Adjectives. USE OF THE ARTICLE WITH NOUNS. 319. Use in General. French and English agree to a considerable extent in the use of the article; differences are noted below. 320. The Indefinite Article. 1. Its use corresponds in general with that of English 'a,' 'an'; its plural is the partitive des (§323): Un homme; une femme; des gens. A man; a woman; people. 2. Contrary to English usage, the indefinite article also commonly stands before an abstract noun used partitively with an adjective or an adjectival adjunct : NOTE.--For several cases in which the English indefinite article is replaced by the French definite article, or vice versa, or is omitted, see below. 321. The General Noun. A noun used in a general sense, i.e., in general,' 'all,' 'every,' etc., being implied with it, regularly has the definite article in French, though not usually in English: La vie est courte. Le fer et le cuivre sont utiles. Les Français aiment la gloire. J'aime les pommes et les poires. Le boire et le manger. Life is short. Iron and copper are useful. The French love glory. The horse is the friend of man. I like apples and pears. The beautiful and the useful. a. So also, names of languages, except after en; but not, however, after parler : Sait-il le français ? Il parle bien (le) français. Parlez-vous français ? Does he know French? 322. The Partitive Noun. termined quantity or number of' or in a partitive sense. A noun implying 'an unde is said to be used partitively The partitive sense, ex 323. Partitive with Article. pressed in English by the noun simply, or else the noun preceded by 'some' or 'any,' is regularly expressed in French by the noun preceded by de + the definite article : Du pain trempé dans du vin. A-t-il des amis? (Some) bread dipped in wine. Des enfants poussaient des cris Some children were uttering ter désespérés. Il est des gens qui le croient. C'est du Carlyle pur. rible cries. There are people who believe it. NOTE. --This use of de+the definite article, or even of de alone (see next section), is often called the 'partitive article'; it is entirely identical in form with de+the article in other senses, e.g., 'Je vends du blé,' 'I sell wheat'; 'Quel est le prix du blé ?,” 'What is the price of the wheat?' 324. Omission of Article. The partitive sense is expressed by de alone + the noun as follows: 1. When an adjective precedes the noun; so also, when a noun is understood after an adjective: Avez-vous de bon papier? De bon vin et de mauvais (sc. vin). De gros livres et de petits (sc. livres). But Des soldats français. J'ai du pain blanc. Have you any good paper? I have some of your books. Big books and little ones. I have white bread. a. The article is not omitted when the noun has a distinctive adjunct: Du bon papier qu'il a acheté. Some of the good paper he bought. b. The article is not omitted when adjective and noun are indivisible in sense, i.e., when forming a real or a virtual compound : Des grands-pères; des petits-fils. Des petits pois; du bon sens. Des jeunes gens; de la bonne foi. Grandfathers; grandchildren. Young men ; honesty. c. Familiarly, the article is often used contrary to the rule: Du bon vin; du vrai bonheur. Good wine; true happiness. 2. After a general negation, implying non-existence of the object in question: Il n'a pas de montre. Sans avoir d'argent. Il ne fit pas de remarques. Pas d'argent et pas d'amis. He has no (not any) watch. I have no (not any) books. No money and no friends. 3. But the article is not omitted, the negation being no c. In negative interrogation implying affirmative answer : N'avez-vous pas des amis, de la Have you not friends, health, insanté, de l'influence? fluence? 325. Omission of the Partitive Sign. The partitive sense is expressed by the noun simply, when the preposition de forms an essential part of the governing expression, thus: 1. In expressions of quantity or number: Une livre de thé (noix). Un morceau de papier. Peu de temps; beaucoup d'amis. A pound of tea (nuts). A piece of paper. A crowd of people. Little time; many friends. Assez de livres. Des milliers d'étoiles. Que de gens assemblés ! Enough books (or books enough). What a number of people assembled! a. Analogous to the above are expressions like the following: Trois jours de marche. Cent soldats de tués. Quelque chose (rien) de bon. Three days' march. A hundred soldiers killed. b. Bien = 'beaucoup' regularly has de + the definite article: Bien de l'argent; bien du monde. But: Bien d'autres. Much money; many people. Many others. NOTE.-Bien in other senses does not take de: 'J'ai bien faim,' 'I am very hungry.' c. La plupart='most,' 'the greater part,' etc., has de + the definite article: La plupart des hommes. La plupart du temps. Most men. Most of the time. d. Expressions of quantity or number with a distinctive adjunct have de + the definite article; so also, beaucoup, peu, etc., absolutely: Une livre du thé de ce marchand. Beaucoup des Juifs de ce pays. 2. After a verb requiring de Il était couvert de plaies. Un homme de génie. Une bourse pleine d'or. A pound of this tradesman's tea. He was covered with wounds. A man of genius. A purse full of gold. NOTES.-1. In both cases (§ 325, 1, 2) the disappearance of the partitive de is caused by its coincidence with a governing de. 2. The negative construction (§ 324, 2) is really parallel, the particles pas, point, etc., being etymologically nouns. 326. General and Partitive Sense. The general sense of a noun (§321) is to be carefully distinguished from the partitive sense (§322): Les oiseaux ont des ailes. Birds have wings. Les hommes sont des animaux. Men are animals. |