French

Article

de la f ‎(masculine du, plural des)

1. Of the
2. Some; the feminine partitive article.

   Voudriez-vous de la confiture ? — Would you like some jam?

   J'ai mangé de la tarte — I ate some pie.

Usage notes

• While English does have the partitive determiner some, the French article de la frequently translates to nothing at all in English; for example, the above example « J'ai mangé de la tarte ? » could also be translated simply as “I ate pie.”
• Like the definite article la (from which it derives), the partitive article de la undergoes elision, becoming de l'- before most words that start with vowel sounds.