Des + Adjective

Des devant adjectif

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When the French article des directly precedes an adjective, it is supposed to reduce to de.

Plural indefinite article

J’ai des amis. J’ai de jeunes amis.		I have some friends. I have some young friends.
J’achète des livres. J’achète de bons livres.		I’m buying some books. I’m buying some good books.

Plural partitive article

J’ai mangé des épinards. J’ai mangé de beaux épinards.		I ate some spinach. I ate some nice spinach.
Je vois des graffitis. Je vois de nouveaux graffitis.		I see some graffiti. I see some new graffiti.

 The "des to de in front of adjectives" convention is considered formal, so it is most common in writing and when speaking formally. But it’s not wrong to use it when speaking at a normal register.

 Note that the article does not change to de …

1) when there is no adjective.

Par exemple

2) when the adjective follows the noun.

Par exemple

3) when the article is singular.

Par exemple

 Related lessons

• Adjective position
• Indefinite articles
• Partitive articles
• De vs du, de la, des

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