Above it says that with a noun it should be:
avoir besoin de/d' + (article) + noun
but then below it says:
Verbal phrases like avoir besoin de don't use the definitive article (or partitive article).
These seem contradictory. If I want to say:
"You need flour"
Do I say: "Tu as besoin de farine" or "Tu as besoin de la farine"
Could someone please clarify with respect to both countable and uncountable items.
Hi Andrew,
Please take a look at Chris' answer to a similar question -
https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/questions/view/when-to-use-des
In your example for -
I need flour
it would be :
J'ai besoin de farine
if you said
J'ai besoin de la farine
it would be, for instance in a situation where two people are cooking together and you might say 'de la' to indicate that you need the flour that someone else is using.
Hope this helps!
Hi Andrew,
Have a look at the link here:-
The format is avoir besoin de + substantive (noun)
Therefore "Tu as besoin de farine" where "farine" is the substantive meets this format and farine is a mass noun "You have need of flour" (not all of the flour in the world, just some of it) therefore the context speaks for itself.
http://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/
Avoir besoin de + subst.Tel champ dont le sol est sec et aride, a besoin de pluies fréquentes (Dupuis, Abr. de l'Orig. de tous les cultes,1796, p. 444).Il avait besoin de cette femme pour vivre comme on a besoin de boire et de manger (Zola, Thérèse Raquin,1867, p. 50):
25. Par-tout ce sont des lieux enchantés, où la nature étale ses charmes, où l'on n'a pas besoin des secours de la philosophie pour être heureux. Baudry des Lozières, Voyage à la Louisiane,1802, p. 77.Hope this helps.
Jim
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