Reduction of the Partitive Article
du, de la, de l’, des → de, d’
The four cases in which the partitive article gets “reduced” (i.e., from its full form to a simple “de”): after a negative adverb, after a quantitative expression, with a preceding plural adjective, and in compléments prépositionnels.
Partitive Articles Explained on the Basis of Definite Articles
One Weird Usage Begets Another
French partitive and definitive articles are explained in terms of set theory. Also, a theory regarding the reduction of the partitive article to “de” in certain circumstances is presented.
