Food shopping: partitive articles 'du, de la, de l', des' | French

Starter quiz

Put the numbers in ascending order (smallest to biggest).
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  un
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  trois
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  cinq
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  dix
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  treize
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  quinze
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  vingt
How do you say 'quite' in French?
- assez ✓
- aussi
- notre
- très
- un peu
Match the verbs in English and French.
- emporter
  
  ⇔
  
  to take with ✓
- manger
  
  ⇔
  
  to eat ✓
- proposer
  
  ⇔
  
  to suggest ✓
- travailler
  
  ⇔
  
  to work ✓
- traverser
  
  ⇔
  
  to cross ✓
- voyager
  
  ⇔
  
  to travel ✓
Put the sentence 'I am Swiss, I live in Switzerland' in the correct order in French.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  je
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  suis
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  suisse
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  j'
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  habite
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  en
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Suisse
What is the feminine form of 'hard working' in French?
- 'travailleuse' ✓
What kind of article is the word 'a/an'?
- 'indefinite article' ✓

Exit quiz

What's the French word for bread?
- fromage
- glace
- natation
- pain ✓
- travail
Match the verbs in French and English.
- j'achètes
  
  ⇔
  
  I buy ✓
- tu achètes
  
  ⇔
  
  you buy (singular) ✓
- elle achète
  
  ⇔
  
  she buys ✓
- nous achetons
  
  ⇔
  
  we buy ✓
- vous achetez
  
  ⇔
  
  you buy (plural) ✓
- ils achètent
  
  ⇔
  
  they buy ✓
Put the sentence 'There's (some) pizza on the table' into the correct order in French.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  il y a
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  de
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  la
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  pizza
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  sur
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  la
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  table
Which drink in French helps us remember the [th] sound?
- 'thé' ✓
Match the partitive articles with the nouns.
- du
  
  ⇔
  
  poisson ✓
- de l'
  
  ⇔
  
  eau ✓
- de la
  
  ⇔
  
  glace ✓
- des
  
  ⇔
  
  euros ✓
Translate 'he's buying (some) cake' into French.
- 'Il achète du gâteau.' ✓

Worksheet

Loading worksheet ...

Presentation

Loading presentation ...

Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

[th] sounds like 'thé'.
The verbs 'acheter' and 'peser' have a spelling change in the present tense from 'e' to 'è' affecting pronounciation.
Un/une/des is for whole items; the partitive article du/de la/de l' is for parts. It must not be missed out in French.
De + definite article means, e.g. 'of the', 'from the'. The partitive looks identical but its meaning is 'some'.
The word for 'some' changes depending on the gender/number/spelling of the noun it describes.

Common misconception

'Some' can be left out in French just like it can in English.

Always use an article before food nouns in French, if it is a whole item, use the indefinite article and if it's uncountable or part of an item, use the partitive article du, de la or de l'.

Keywords

[th] - pronounced as in 'thé'
Partitive article - refers to parts of things; often means 'some' in English