When is "de" needed?

JoakimC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

When is "de" needed?

Look at these sentences: Le roi a la pouvoir. Pour faire de la fusion nucléaire une source d'énergie, il faut que... How come one needs "de" in front of "la", but the other doesn't? Is there some handy rule I can apply?
Asked 8 years ago
LauraKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Joakim,

This is the difference between the definite article (le [not la] pouvoir) and the partitive article (de la fusion).

When talking about all of something or the general sense, like "power," you need the definite article.

When talking about some of something, like fusion, you need the partitive article.

When is "de" needed?

Look at these sentences: Le roi a la pouvoir. Pour faire de la fusion nucléaire une source d'énergie, il faut que... How come one needs "de" in front of "la", but the other doesn't? Is there some handy rule I can apply?

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