De
February 11, 2011 § Leave a comment
DE = of, from
1. De can be used to show possession. There is no ‘s in French, so one cannot say “Fred’s notebook”. One says instead, “the notebook of Fred” = “le cahier de Fred”.
2. Like à, de contracts when put with le and les.
de + le > du
de + la = de la
de + les > des
de + l’ = de l’
the boy’s notebook = the notebook of the boy = le cahier du garçon
the girl’s notebook = the notebook of the girl = le cahier de la fille
the child’s notebook = the notebook of the child = le cahier de l’enfant
studentS’ notebookS = the notebookS of the studentS = les cahiers des étudiants
3. From – follows the same pattern as above.
from the park – du parc
from the beach – de la plage
from the school – de l’école
from the boyS – des garçons
from the houseS des maisons
French Notes 
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