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What is the capital of Tunisia?

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What is the capital of Tunisia?

“de” vs “des” in some sentences

This is explained as follows as far as certain important concepts go, but that’s not the whole story; more detail and an extended treatement of your question is to be found from the following links.
http://research.jyu.fi/grfle/049.html
http://research.jyu.fi/grfle/051.html

Several other links found in those web pages give a lot of worthwhile complements.

  1. Fundamental rule

When the indefinite article (singular, plural and mass) determines a noun phrase that happens to have the function of “complément d’objet direct” of a verb in the negative form, this article has the form “de“.

  • J’ai une voiture. • Je n’ai pas encore de voiture.
  • J’ai remarqué des fautes.• Je n’ai pas remarqué de fautes.
  • Il n’a pas donné de coup de téléphone hier.

2.Exceptions to the transformation into “de”

The article keeps the form “des” in the Following case.

a / Case of a partial negation

What is being negated is the nature of the object, not the action in which it is involved.

  • Je n’ai pas planté des figuiers, mais des cerisiers.
  • (Contrast) Je n’ai pas planté de radis en ce début de saison, je le ferai plus tard.

The action of planting is not negated; what’s being negated is what the field has been planted with: fig trees, not cherry trees.

b / Contradiction in the affirmative of sentence in the negative

  • Ils n’ont pas offert des romans cette année mais des recueils de poèmes.
  • (Contrast) Il était question de faire divers cadeaux aux élèves méritants mais il ne leur a pas été offert de livres.

c / Partial negation that bears on another element than the cod (“complément d’objet direct”)

(i) The negation concerns the adjective

  • Il ne fait pas de progrès.
  • (Contrast) Il ne fait pas des progrès fracassants mais tout de même il progresse.

(ii) The negation bears upon an adverb or a “complément circonstanciel (temps, manière,…)” and it is understood that habitually this is the case

  • Ils n’ont pas pris de cigarettes ce jour-là. (It is not understood that they bought anything at all.)
  • Ils n’ont pas pris des cigarettes ce jour-là. (Usually they buy cigarettes but this time they bought something else.)

(iii) When using the locution “ni… ni”

  • Il ne prends ni des petits pains ni des pains italiens.
  • (Contrast) Il ne prends jamais de petits pains.

(iv) In polite questions in the negative form when the answer is likely to be in the affirmative

  • Vous n’auriez pas proposé des voyages organisés, par hasard ?
  • (Contrast) Vous ne leur proposez pas de voyages organisés, par hasard ?

 

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What is the capital of Tunisia?