When is it appropriate to use d’ instead of de?
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That1 A.Kwiziq community member
When is it appropriate to use d’ instead of de?
This question relates to:French lesson "Expressing possession in French with "de""
Asked 7 years ago
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
You use "d'" whenever the next word starts with a vowel. This works for all words ending on the letter "e" when the next word starts with a vowel and is called elision.
Here is the corresponding lesson: https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/glossary/contraction/l-elision-elision
-- Chris.
AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq
Attention!
Chris is correct about elision BUT it does not apply to "all words ending in -e", but only pronouns and prepositions (you cannot apply elision on nouns or adjectives for example!)
Bonne journée !
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Yes, thank you, Aurélie. I forgot about that. To augment this with an example:
"Notre évaluation va commencer tout de suite."
and NOT
"Notr' évaluation.....".
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
That1 A.Kwiziq community member
Thanks Chris! Spanish has always been my area of expertise and I thought why not take a shot at French.
Sagar J.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Bonjour, tout le monde.
I have a quick question on the use of 'de' to denote ownership. If I wish to say:"The student's pen", where the student in question happens to be female, would it be correct to say:
"Le stylo d'étudiante" ?
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