2 THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
a Un and une correspond to English ‘a/an’, e.g. un métier (line 27). They introduce a singular
noun as being a particular (not a general) unknown, indefinite, new thing.
An English speaker may find the idea of a plural indefinite article odd, since there is no plural
of ‘a/an’ in English, but in French the plural des is used to introduce a plural noun as being
particular and unknown, e.g. des virages, des instables, des touche-à-tout (lines 10–11), where
there would be no article in English.
b The forms of the indefinite article are:- masculine singular: un
- feminine singular: une
- plural: des
3 THE PARTITIVE ARTICLE
a The partitive article is used to express an indefinite quantity of something. There are no
examples in the text, but contrast un agneau (‘a lamb’) with de l’agneau (‘some lamb’) and un
café (‘a pub’) with du café (‘some coffee’). It sometimes corresponds to English ‘some’, or (in
questions) ‘any’, but often English has no equivalent.
b None of the singular forms of the partitive article (du, de la, de l’) occurs in the text. The
singular forms of the partitive article must not be confused with the identical forms of
the preposition de plus the definite article, meaning ‘of the’, ‘from the’, which are found in
the text, e.g. du pays (line 6).- For the plural form des in the text, see The Indefinite Article, above.
c De is normally substituted for the partitive or the indefinite article with the direct object of a
verb in the negative, e.g. il n’y a pas de «trucs» (line 4). The equivalent positive sentence would
have read il y a destrucs. There are exceptions to this rule, however. See Discover more about
articles and quantifiers, below.
4 ABSENCE OF ARTICLE
aIn the constructionsans+ noun, no indefinite or partitive article is used, e.g.sans État, sans règles
(line 32). However, in the constructionsans+ verb + noun, an article is used, e.g.sans laisser la
moindre trace(without leaving the slightest trace),sans faire de bruit(without making any noise).
b A common construction in French is a noun + de, followed immediately by another noun
(with no article before this second noun). In this construction, de + noun functions like an
adjective, describing the first noun.
e.g. patriotisme d’entreprise (line 25)82 French Grammar in Context