In French, expressions of quantity are almost always followed by de or d’. We do this with all kinds of quantities, and it doesn’t matter if the noun that follows is plural, singular, masculine or feminine. However, sometimes we need to ask the question: Beaucoup de ou beaucoup des? There are certain situations that call for expressions of quantity to be followed by des, du, de la, or d’.
In the following examples, de or d’ replace the partitive articles du, de la, de l’, des.
Beaucoup de – Peu de – Assez de
| J’ai acheté beaucoup de livres. | I bought a lot of books. |
| Elle a très peu d’argent. | She has very little money. |
| Nous avons assez de provisions. | We have enough supplies. |
However, there is a time when the choice between using de, du, de la, de l’, or des with expressions of quantity can happen.
It depends on whether the noun is followed by a relative pronoun, which would make the distinction between the quantity being general or specific to a particular context.
Using du, de la, des, or de l’ indicates a specific quantity related to that particular noun. In the following examples, du, de la, des, and de l’ are not partitive articles, they are contracted articles.
Partitive and contracted articles look the same, but the meaning is slightly different.
| Est-ce que tu veux boire du champagne? Do you want to drink some champagne? | Partitive Article |
| Où est la clé du coffre? Where is the trunk key? (the key of the trunk) | Contracted Article |
Une part du – Quelques bouquets des – Beaucoup des
| J’ai mangé une part du gâteau que tu as fait. | I ate a piece of the cake (that) you made. |
| Elle a acheté quelques bouquets des fleurs qui étaient en vente. | She bought some bouquets of the flowers that were for sale. |
| Nous avons visité beaucoup des villes que tu nous as suggérées. | We visited many of the cities (that) you suggested. |
Relative Pronouns
Remember that the use of “de,” “du,” “de la,” or “des” depends on whether the noun is followed by a relative pronoun and whether you want to convey a general or specific context related to the noun in question.
| Beaucoup de poissons. | A lot of fish. |
| Beaucoup des poissons que j’ai attrapés se sont échappés. | A lot of the fish (that) I caught escaped. |
| Une tranche de gâteau. | A slice of cake. |
| Une tranche du gâteau que ta maman a fait. | A slice of the cake (that) your mom made. |
| Peu d’informations. | Little information. |
| Peu des informations que j’ai trouvées étaient utiles. | Few of the pieces of information (that) I found were useful. |
Video + Lesson Guide
Watch my video lesson in which I’ll provide clear explanations, engaging examples, and practical tips to help you grasp the concept of using French expressions of quantity like beaucoup de ou beaucoup des.
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