1. Introducing
Some and Any

2. 1. Some

3. French has
four ways
of saying
some
du
de la
de l’
des

4. How do
you decide
which one
to choose?
du
de la
de l’
des

5. Step 1
Countable or Uncountable?
In the mind of a French
speaker, everything that exists
is either countable or
uncountable.

6. Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is
countable if it
makes sense to
put a number in
front of it.
dog
chair
car
boy
carrot
flower
2
3
4
5
6
7

7. Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is
countable if it
makes sense to
put a number in
front of it.
dogs
chairs
cars
boys
carrots
flowers
2
3
4
5
6
7

8. Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is
uncountable if it
does not usually
make sense to
put a number in
front of it.
water
cream
rice
bread
meat
air
2
3
4
5
6
7

9. Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is
uncountable if it
does not usually
make sense to
put a number in
front of it.
waters
creams
rices
breads
meats
airs
2
3
4
5
6
7

10. Countables
Saying some in
front of
countables is
easy.
Watch!
dogs
chairs
cars
boys
carrots
flowers

11. Countables
Saying some in
front of
countables is
easy.
Watch!
chiens
chaises
voitures
garçons
carottes
fleurs
des
des
des
des
des
des

12. Countables
Saying some in
front of
countables is
easy.
Watch!
chiens
chaises
voitures
garçons
carottes
fleurs
des
des
des
des
des
des

13. Uncountables
Saying some in
front of
uncountables
takes a little
more thought.

14. Uncountables
Uncountables will always be singular. What you
need to know is whether they are
masculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
pain
riz
air
crème
viande
eau

15. Uncountables
Masculine Feminine
pain
riz
air
crème
viande
eau
du
du
de la
de la
With masculine Nouns, some is du
With feminine Nouns, some is de la
But, if the Noun begins with a vowel, use de l’
de l’ de l’

16. Summary
How to say “some”
Countables
Uncountables
Use des in front of the
plural form of the Noun,
e.g. des carottes
Use du / de la / de l’ in
front of the singular
form of the Noun.
e.g. du café , de la soupe

17. Hybrids
Some Nouns can be either countable
or uncountable depending on how
you want to talk about them.
Here are some examples:

18. Hybrids
du café some coffee, i.e a quantity of liquid or beans.
des cafés some coffees, i.e several cups of coffee.
du poisson some fish, i.e some meat taken from a fish.
des poissons some fish, i.e several individual fishes.
de la confiture some jam, i.e. a quantity of jam.
des confitures some jams, i.e. a selection of different jams.
de l’eau minérale some mineral water, i.e. an undefined quantity.
des eaux minérales a number of glasses or bottles of mineral water.

19. In English
you can put a Noun immediately after expressions
like these:
I’d like…
Have you got…?
I’ll have……?
sweets
lemonade
chicken
potatoes
beer
In French, you must use one of du, de la, de l’ or des
in front of the Noun.

20. Try these
Je voudrais…
Avez-vous…?
Je prends…
Y a-t-il…?
…bonbons
des bonbons
…limonade
de la limonade
…pommes de terre
des pommes de terre
…céréales
des céréales
…café
du café

21. Try these
Je voudrais…
Avez-vous…?
Je prends…
Y a-t-il…?
…dessert
du dessert
…pâtes
des pâtes
…sucre
du sucre
…eau
de l’eau
…oeufs
des oeufs

22. 2. Any

23. In English, we change some to
any after a negative Verb.
I want some coffee I don’t want any coffee.
He’s got some money He hasn’t got any money.
I can see someone I can’t see anyone.

24. Something similar happens in
French after a negative Verb.
du
de la
de l’
des
all become
de
d’
before a vowel

25. Can you make these negative?
Je veux du pain.

26. Can you make these negative?
Je veux du pain.
Je ne veux pas de pain.

27. Can you make these negative?
Je prends de l’eau.

28. Can you make these negative?
Je prends de l’eau.
Je ne prends pas d’eau.

29. Can you make these negative?
J’ai des frères.

30. Can you make these negative?
J’ai des frères.
Je n’ai pas de frères.

31. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Avez-vous du vin?
Non, nous…

32. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Avez-vous du vin?
Non, nous n’avons pas de vin.

33. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Voulez-vous des spaghettis?
Non, merci, je…

34. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Voulez-vous des spaghettis?
Non, merci, je ne veux pas de
spaghettis.

35. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Veux-tu de l’eau?
Non, merci, je …

36. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Veux-tu de l’eau?
Non, merci, je ne veux pas d’eau.

37. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Tu prends de la bière?
Merci. Je ne prends …

38. Can you answer these
in the negative?
Tu prends de la bière?
Merci. Je ne prends pas de bière.

39. Now try
inventing some
of your own

40. Summary
You have learnt to
say “some” and “any”
using
du, de la, de l’, des, de & d’
in simple sentences
based on Verbs
in the Present Tense

41. C’est tout !
© D J Ash 2001
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