the subjunctive
TRANSCRIPT
Introducing
Some and Any
1. Some
French has four ways of saying some
du
de la
de l’
des
How do you decide which one to choose?
du
de la
de l’
des
Step 1Countable or Uncountable?
In the mind of a French speaker, everything that exists is either countable or uncountable.
Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is countable if it makes sense to put a number in front of it.
dogchaircarboycarrotflower
234567
Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is countable if it makes sense to put a number in front of it.
dogschairscarsboyscarrotsflowers
234567
Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is uncountable if it does not usually make sense to put a number in front of it.
watercreamricebreadmeatair
234567
Countable or Uncountable?
A Noun is uncountable if it does not usually make sense to put a number in front of it.
waterscreamsricesbreadsmeatsairs
234567
Countables
Saying some in front of countables is easy.
Watch!
dogschairscarsboyscarrotsflowers
Countables
Saying some in front of countables is easy.
Watch!
chienschaisesvoituresgarçonscarottesfleurs
desdesdesdesdesdes
Countables
Saying some in front of countables is easy.
Watch!
chienschaisesvoituresgarçonscarottesfleurs
desdesdesdesdesdes
Uncountables
Saying some in front of uncountables takes a little more thought.
Uncountables
Uncountables will always be singular. What you need to know is whether they aremasculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
painrizair
crèmeviandeeau
Uncountables
Masculine Feminine
painrizair
crèmeviandeeau
dudu
de lade 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’
SummaryHow 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
Hybrids
Some Nouns can be either countable or uncountable depending on how you want to talk about them.
Here are some examples:
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.
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.
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
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
2. Any
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.
Something similar happens in French after a negative Verb.
dude lade l’des
all become
de
d’before a vowel
Can you make these negative?
Je veux du pain.
Can you make these negative?
Je veux du pain.
Je ne veux pas de pain.
Can you make these negative?
Je prends de l’eau.
Can you make these negative?
Je prends de l’eau.
Je ne prends pas d’eau.
Can you make these negative?
J’ai des frères.
Can you make these negative?
J’ai des frères.
Je n’ai pas de frères.
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Avez-vous du vin?
Non, nous…
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Avez-vous du vin?
Non, nous n’avons pas de vin.
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Voulez-vous des spaghettis?
Non, merci, je…
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Voulez-vous des spaghettis?
Non, merci, je ne veux pas de spaghettis.
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Veux-tu de l’eau?
Non, merci, je …
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Veux-tu de l’eau?
Non, merci, je ne veux pas d’eau.
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Tu prends de la bière?
Merci. Je ne prends …
Can you answer thesein the negative?
Tu prends de la bière?
Merci. Je ne prends pas de bière.
Now try inventing some
of your own
Summary
You have learnt tosay “some” and “any”
usingdu, de la, de l’, des, de & d’
in simple sentencesbased on Verbs
in the Present Tense
C’est tout !
© D J Ash 2001
There are more PowerPoint Presentationson the KES Modern Languages Website
www.keslanguages.com