“DE” Vs “DES” IN PLURAL FORM IN FRENCH?

Bonjour French lover, in this blogpost, THE FRENCH MASTER GH will help you get insight into why de is used instead of des in front of some plural nouns or noun phrases in a sentence in French.

It is true that des is the plural form of the indefinite articles un & une, hence should be used in front of a plural noun or noun phrases used in an indefinite form but this is not always the case as in the example below:

1. il me fallait de nouvelles chaussures.

The indefinite article des is replaced by de when used before plural nouns or noun phrases in French if the name that it determines is an epithet adjective placed before a plural noun.

let’s look at these examples:

1. il me fallait de nouvelles chaussures. (I needed new shoes)

2. Kofi a besoin des chaussures neuves. (Kofi needs new shoes)

NOTE

When both the epithet adjective and the noun it qualifies form a compound noun, des is used.

let’s look at these examples:

1. Ce sont des jeunes gens pleins d’espoir. (They are young people full of hope)
2. Ce sont des jeunes filles pleines d’enthousiasme. (They are young girls full of enthusiasm)