des
/de/
des is the French plural indefinite article used to refer to more than one unspecified person or thing.
des is used to refer to an unspecified quantity of people or objects. It can also function as a contraction of the preposition de and the plural definite article les, in which case it means "of the".
Which one should you use?
Use des when you are talking about an unspecified quantity of something (some/any). In contrast, use les when you are referring to specific items or all members of a particular group (the).
How does it change in a sentence?
In many contexts, the plural indefinite article des changes to de when it precedes a plural adjective that comes before the noun. Additionally, as noted above, des can be the result of combining the preposition de with the plural article les.
How do you pronounce it?
/de/
Did you know?
- In French, you cannot simply omit the word des when speaking about an unspecified plural group, whereas English often drops 'some' in sentences like 'I see birds'.
- When using des in a negative sentence, such as 'I do not have any', it almost always transforms into de, regardless of whether the noun is plural.
- While des refers to an unspecified amount, using it with a noun that is inherently uncountable can change the meaning to 'several types of'.
Examples in context
- Le maréchal des logis-chef exerce des responsabilités d’encadrement dans les brigades territoriales ou mobiles.The chief maréchal des logis performs supervisory duties in territorial or mobile brigades.The sentence demonstrates des used in the context of responsibilities.Tatoeba #13362925 by Igider, translation #13362928 by Igider
- Le maréchal des logis est un grade emblématique des sous-officiers de la gendarmerie, hérité de la tradition militaire.The maréchal des logis is a traditional rank among gendarmerie non-commissioned officers, inherited from military heritage.The sentence shows des used to mean "of the" in the phrase "of the non-commissioned officers".Tatoeba #13362921 by Igider, translation #13362923 by Igider
- Ils ont acheté de belles voituresThey bought beautiful cars
- J'ai des amisI have friends
- J'ai des livresI have books
- J'ai de bonnes idéesI have good ideas
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are looking at a fruit basket in the kitchen.
- ManonEst-ce qu'il y a des pommes ?Are there any apples?
- HugoOui, j'ai acheté des pommes ce matin.Yes, I bought some apples this morning.
- ManonSuper, je vais en prendre une.Great, I'm going to have one.
- HugoElles sont très bonnes et fraîches.They are very good and fresh.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry des, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
