{"id":26705,"date":"2017-04-24T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T10:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=26705"},"modified":"2018-03-23T11:25:46","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T10:25:46","slug":"problematic-prepositions-de","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/problematic-prepositions-de\/","title":{"rendered":"Problematic Prepositions: De"},"content":{"rendered":"

The French preposition\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>is notorious for giving French learners difficulty at all levels. Why? Because this simple preposition, which generally means “of, from, or about,” can change greatly depending on the word it precedes.\u00a0De\u00a0<\/em>can also be used in many different ways, which also changes the rules regarding its use. Let’s take a look.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

De\u00a0<\/em>is the most common preposition in French\u2014and it can be used in many different ways. Here are some of the most common ways in which it is used:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. to signify possession (the English equivalent of “of”)<\/li>\n
  2. to express a certain direction or relation (“from” or “by”)<\/li>\n
  3. to coordinate between two verbs (“of” or “to”)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    De\u00a0<\/em>can also be used as an article to express a quantity of something.\u00a0Somewhat relatedly,\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>can be used in expressions<\/em> of quantity,\u00a0which carry different rules for how\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>does or not change before a word. We will go over these uses in a post on\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>and quantities next week.<\/p>\n

    Let’s return to the three uses of\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>as a preposition.<\/p>\n

    The usage of de\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0signify possession, direction, and relation is simple enough.\u00a0De\u00a0<\/em>does not change when it comes before a proper noun. For example,\u00a0c’est le livre de Marie\u00a0<\/em>(It’s Marie’s book.) Because\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>precedes the proper noun\u00a0Marie<\/em>, it does not change form at all. It’s the same thing for a preposition of relation\/direction, as in the following case: Brice vient de Nice\u00a0<\/em>(Brice comes from Nice). Because Nice is a proper noun,\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>does not change.<\/p>\n

    However, if\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>precedes a regular noun it will change based on the gender of that noun. For example,\u00a0c’est le\u00a0cuisinier du restaurant\u00a0<\/em>(It’s the chef \u00a0of the restaurant). Because\u00a0restaurant\u00a0<\/em>is masculine, the\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>changes to\u00a0du.\u00a0<\/em>If, however, the noun is feminine, the\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>will change to\u00a0de la<\/em>. For example,\u00a0elle vient de partir de la maison.\u00a0<\/em>(She just came from the house). Because\u00a0maison\u00a0<\/em>is feminine,\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>becomes\u00a0de la.\u00a0<\/em>Finally, if the word that follows\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>begins with a vowel, it will become\u00a0de l’.\u00a0<\/em>For example,\u00a0c’est le chef de l’entreprise. (<\/em>He’s the boss of the company.)<\/p>\n

    Got it?<\/p>\n

    Coordinating between two verbs works a bit differently\u2014although it is even more simple.\u00a0De\u00a0<\/em>will not change when coordinating between two verbs. For example,\u00a0elle essaie de le faire<\/em>\u00a0(she is trying to do it).\u00a0<\/em>Don’t get confused by seeing\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>next to\u00a0le.\u00a0<\/em>They are not connected and it is not related to\u00a0de la<\/em> at all. Rather,\u00a0le\u00a0<\/em>precedes the verb\u00a0faire\u00a0<\/em>and means “it,” which is separate from\u00a0de.\u00a0<\/em>This becomes clearer when the sentence is phrased in a different way:\u00a0Elle essaie de faire du sport\u00a0<\/em>(she is trying to play sports\/work out). In this case, the\u00a0le\u00a0<\/em>(“it”) is specified as\u00a0faire du sport\u00a0<\/em>(“playing sports\/working out”). Notice how\u00a0de\u00a0<\/em>is used twice in this sentence in different ways\u2014and how it takes on different forms.<\/p>\n

    Check back next week to explore other forms of\u00a0this tricky preposition!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The French preposition\u00a0de\u00a0is notorious for giving French learners difficulty at all levels. Why? Because this simple preposition, which generally means “of, from, or about,” can change greatly depending on the word it precedes.\u00a0De\u00a0can also be used in many different ways, which also changes the rules regarding its use. Let’s take a look.   De\u00a0is the…<\/p>\n

    Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13469,284,346,385],"class_list":["post-26705","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-de","tag-free-french-lessons","tag-french-grammar","tag-french-prepositions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t