The word “de” can be used to express “some” or “any” in French

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de

The words “de” and “à” each have two meanings:

de – of / from
à – at / to

je voudrais aller à Paris – I would like to go to Paris
je suis à la plage – I am at the beach
le souvenir est de Paris – the souvenir is from Paris
c’est une bouteille de vin – it’s a bottle of wine

quelques

There is a second word for “some”, which you can use in front of plural nouns: quelques. It can be translated either as “some” or as “a few”, and usually, you can use it interchangeably with “des”.

j’ai acheté quelques pommes – I’ve bought some / a few apples

You could also use “des” in that sentence:

j’ai acheté des pommes – I’ve bought some apples

You can’t use “quelques” in front of singular nouns; you have to use “du” or “de la” instead:


j'ai acheté de la farine – I’ve bought some flour
j’ai acheté du sucre – I’ve bought some sugar

Let's practise

Have a go at saying these sentences in French. Any vocabulary you might need is on the "Vocabulary" tab below.
Sentences
Vocabulary
  1. I would like some apples (an apple – une pomme)
  2. I've bought some bananas (a banana – une banane)
  3. Do you have any tables? (a table – une table)
  4. I would like some cheese (the cheese – le fromage)
  5. I've bought some sugar (the sugar – le sucre)
  6. Do you have any wine? (the wine – le vin)
  7. I would like some flour (the flour – la farine)
  8. I've bought some vodka (the vodka – la vodka)
  9. Do you have any money? (the money – l’argent)
  10. I would like some flowers (a flower – une fleur)
  11. I've bought some eggs (an egg – un œuf)
  12. Do you have any children? (a child – un enfant)
  13. I would like some water (the water – l’eau)
  14. I've bought some socks (a sock – une chaussette)
  15. Do you have any bags? (a bag – un sac)

I would like – je voudrais
I’ve bought – j’ai acheté
do you have – avez-vous

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