FRENCH language : uses of /du/ and /d'/ term !!!?

Question

I asked the wrong question previously...

anyway.. The main question I had is this: 'du' means 'of' right ? d' means 'of' too, right ?? When should I use du and when d' and what other possibilities can I use, the ones that mean 'of' ???

For example..

Can I say 'musée du Louvre' ?

Can I say 'musée d' Louvre' ? If the second version is wrong, is it because of the way you pronaunce the word that comes after the term d' ?? Just like when you use le studio instead of l'studio, and in english instead of 'a hour' you use 'an hour'.

I've seen some sites use term du' !! What's this then ?? du and d' combined ?? Why ?

Anyway.. my main questions were up there...

Answer 1

"of" means "de" and nothing else, but the problem is that in french there're feminine/masculine/plurial nouns like in english but "de" change whith de gender of these nouns.

le=masculine,la=feminine,les=plurial feminine or masculine

de+le =du, "of the"=masculine

de+la=de la,"of the" feminine

de+les=des,"of the" plurial

De:

"The city of Paris" means "La ville de Paris".

"the dog of john"(john's dog), "le chien de John"

De+le=du:

"the dog of the president"(the president's dog), "le chien DU président"

"the color of the train", "la couleur du train"

De la:

"the color of the car", "la couleur de la voiture(feminine noun)"

"the size of the house", "la taille de la maison"

De+les=des:

"the color of (the)cars", "la couleur des voitures"

"the size of (the) trains","la couleur des trains"

" d' " it's just de, but used with a noun with a voyel.

"the united states of amrica", "les états uni d'amerique"

"Le louvre" so = le musée de+le Louvre = "Le musée du Louvre"

That's all...

PS: French is a difficult language so if you make a mistake everybody can understand you anyway.

A lot of french doesn't know how to speak good, but everybody understand them...

Sorry for my english, i hope i help you...

Answer 2

You use d' (or l') only when the word following it begins with a vowel or a vowel sound.  Otherwise, you use de, du, le, la, un, une depending on the gender of the noun.

Answer 3

"Du "can have several meanings. The one you are talking about here is a contraction of "DE + LE" = "of the". It is used before a masculine noun. In the feminine, you would say "DE LA" and in the plural "DES" (contraction of DE + LES). You will use "DE L' " before a singular noun beginning with a vowel, regardless of gender. Examples:

- Masc :  le propriétaire du château (the owner of the château)

- Fem :    le propriétaire de la maison (the owner of the house)

- Plur  :   le propriétaire des vignobles (the owner of the vineyards)

- Before vowel: le directeur de l'école (the school Principal)

Now " D' "just means "of". It is the contraction of DE and is used only before a vowel, regardless of gender (masculine or feminine) or number (singular or plural)

- un jardin d'enfants (a kindergarten)

- une collection d'images (a collection of pictures)

- un ami d'enfance (a childhood friend)

- un atelier d'artiste (an artist's workshop)

- une histoire d'amour (a love story), etc

>>>> so you have to say "Musée du Louvre" because Le Louvre (the Louvre) always comes with an article (= Museum OF THE Louvre, literaly)

In a completely different context, "DU, DE LA, DE L' " can also be partitive articles, to mean "some".

- masc: du pain (some bread)

- fem:    de la farine (some flour)

- vowel: de l'eau (some water)

Answer 4

Du: in front of a masculine noun starting with a consonant (le musee du Louvre)

D': in front a noun (masculine  or feminine) starting with a vowel (je manque d'initiative)

Du': does not exixt in french.

Answer 5

Mussée d'Louvre? we dont have such a word in French .... du is actually de+le .... if sth is Masculin and you want to call it... you should use du ...anyway... we never can use such a thing : d'Louvre.....its Wrong .... we only use Liaison  when after mute term we would use voyelle ..par exapmle : Je+habite à Paris = J'habite à ... look at this experession ... Je would stick  to voyelle term ( H is voyelle in Francais )..... so we say it in this way...I hope I could help enough...about du ...it contains various meaning... such as : Of , piece of ... belonging to someone ....or..etc

Answer 6

i think you use d' when the word that comes after d' begins with a vowel, same with le and l'. Example- l'ecole(school). But not if a constanant follows. Example- du louvre