Words
The partitive article: du, de la, de l', des
Some bread, some water: du pain, de l'eau. After pas and after a quantity it simply becomes de: pas de pain, un kilo de pommes.
Why
On a café terrace in Mons you order: Je voudrais eau. The waiter looks surprised. What is missing?
Ordering food and drink, writing a shopping list, saying what you eat or do not eat: for all that you need the partitive article. Dutch simply says ‘water’ or ‘brood’, French says de l'eau and du pain: some of it, an amount you do not specify.
What was missing was de l': Je voudrais de l'eau, s'il vous plaît.
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