de la
See also: dela, delà, dēlā, and dēla
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /də la/
Audio (file)
Article
de la f (masculine du, plural des)
- of the
- some; the feminine partitive article
- Voudriez-vous de la confiture ? ― Would you like some jam?
- J'ai mangé de la tarte ― I ate some pie.
Usage notes
- While English does have the partitive determiner some, the French article de la frequently translates to nothing at all in English; for example, the above example « J'ai mangé de la tarte » could also be translated simply as “I ate pie.”
- Like the definite article la (from which it derives), the partitive article de la undergoes elision, becoming de l'- before most words that start with vowel sounds.
Further reading
- “de la”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Romanian
Etymology
de + la, literally, “from at”.
Preposition
de la (+accusative)
- from (spatial, relational, causal)
- Synonyms: de, din (not interchangeable)
- Au furat ceva de la casa ta. ― They stole something from your house.
- Am învățat mult de la tine. ― I've learned a lot from you.
- Am obosit de la citit. ― I'm tired from reading.
- de la A la Z ― from A to Z
- de la distanță ― from afar
- from, since (temporal)
- Synonyms: de, din (not interchangeable, see notes)
- Este treaz de la ora opt. ― He is awake since eight o'clock.
- de la început ― from the beginning
- by (instrumental)
- de la sine ― by itself
- Word to join the parts of a compound; sometimes corresponding to "of".
- Synonym: de
- buzunar de la pantalon ― pant pocket
- apă de la robinet ― tap water
- abatere de la lege ― breach of law
Usage notes
- When constructing phrases of the form "from X to Y", it is usually accompanied by "(până) la": "de la X (până) la Y"
(since (temporal)):
de la is usually used together with a fixed point in time (though not with dates):
- de la ora nouă ― since nine o'clock
- de la ianuarie ― since January
din is usually used together with dates or in certain expressions:
- din (anul) 2000 ― since (the year) 2000
- din acel moment ― from that moment on
de is usually used for time frames:
- de un an ― for a year
- de mult timp ― for a long time
Derived terms
- de la sine
- de la distanță, de la depărtare
- de la început, de la bun început
- de la cap la coadă
- de la un capăt la altul
- de la A la Z
- de la Ana la Caiafa
- de la egal la egal
- de la caz la caz
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /de la/ [d̪e la]
- Syllabification: de la
Article
de la
- of the