Part 3 in this series.
de – from/of
“Ces oranges viennent d’Espagne.” | “These oranges come from Spain.”
“Du jour au lendemain la situation politique s’est transformée.” | “From one day to the next, the political situation has been transformed.”
“Tu as vu la photo de notre équipe ?” | “Have you seen the photo of our team?”
“Paris est la capitale de la France.” | “Paris is the capital of France.”
De can express the way in which something is done, especially with the following nouns:
- d’un seul coup | with a single blow
- d’une façon surprenante | in a surprising way
- d’une manière aimable | in a friendly way
- d’un pas rapide | walking fast/at a fast pace
- d’un ton irrité | in an irritated tone/voice
- d’une voix douce | in a soft voice
De can be used to translate the English “with” to express the means or cause:
- accablé de terreur | overcome with terror
- chargé de fruits | loaded with fruit
- plein d’espoir | full of hope
De expresses the substance something is made of, or what it contains:
- un mur de briques | a brick wall
- une boule de cristal | cristal/crystal ball
- une assiette de charcuterie | a plate of cold cuts (cold meats)
- une tasse de thé | a cup of tea
De is used to translate “more/less than” when plus or moins is followed by a number or quantity:
- “Il y a plus de 500 délégués.” | “There are more than 500 delegates.”
- “Ils nous reste moins d’un litre de lait.” | “We have less than a liter of milk left.”
De is used after adjectives expressing measurements:
- un trou large de deux mètres | a hole two meters wide
De is used after the verb être when prices, numbers, and quantities are given:
- “Le prix de la pension complète est de 1.000 Euros.” | “The full board costs 1,000 Euros.”
- “Le nombre des manifestants était de 5.000.” | “The number of protesters was 5,000.” | “There were 5,000 protesters.”
- “La consommation moyenne est de deux litre d’eau par jour.” | “On average, two liters of water are drunk a day.”
De is used after a superlative adjective to translate the English “in/of”:
- “C’est le plus beau pays du monde.” | “It’s the most beautiful country in the world.”
- “C’est le modèle le plus économique de toutes les petites voitures.” | “It’s the most economical of all the small cars.”
Stay tuned in for the next part in this series! Have a great week, everyone!
Merci à vous !
Courtney
Learn French Avec Moi 