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When discussing shortages or dietary limits, you will often need to express that there is *zero* quantity of an item.

### The "pas de" rule

In a positive sentence, you use an indefinite article (*un*, *une*, *des*) or a partitive article (*du*, *de la*, *de l'*). However, when making the sentence negative to express a complete absence, replace the article with **de** (or **d'** before a vowel or mute *h*).

| Positive | Negative (Zero Quantity) |
|---|---|
| Il a **du** temps. | Il n'a **pas de** temps. |
| Elle boit **de l'** eau. | Elle ne boit **pas d'** eau. |

### Lacking something (avoir)

When you don't have *any* of an item, use *ne ... pas de*.

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### Dietary limits (manger and boire)

This rule is especially useful for diets and allergies. The partitive articles normally used for food and drink become *pas de* or *pas d'*.

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### Abstract concepts

The rule works exactly the same way for abstract concepts like luck (*la chance*) and patience (*la patience*).

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Zero quantity (pas de)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
the money (m)	l'argent
This client doesn't have any money.	Ce client n'a pas d'argent.
Why don't you have any money?	Pourquoi est-ce que tu n'as pas d'argent ?
the change (money)	la monnaie
You don't have any change?	Vous n'avez pas de monnaie ?
I don't have any change for the restaurant.	Je n'ai pas de monnaie pour le restaurant.
vegetarian	végétarien
the meat	la viande
This man is a vegetarian; he doesn't eat meat.	Cet homme est végétarien, il ne mange pas de viande.
We are vegetarians; we don't eat meat.	Nous sommes végétariens, nous ne mangeons pas de viande.
the pork	le porc
This girl doesn't eat pork.	Cette fille ne mange pas de porc.
I don't eat pork.	Je ne mange pas de porc.
the allergy (f)	l'allergie
the alcohol (m)	l'alcool
She has an allergy and she doesn't drink alcohol.	Elle a une allergie et elle ne boit pas d'alcool.
the gluten	le gluten
I don't have an allergy, but I don't eat gluten.	Je n'ai pas d'allergie, mais je ne mange pas de gluten.
My cousin doesn't eat gluten.	Mon cousin ne mange pas de gluten.
This doctor doesn't drink alcohol.	Ce médecin ne boit pas d'alcool.
the luck	la chance
to be lucky	avoir de la chance
This student doesn't have any luck.	Cet étudiant n'a pas de chance.
Our team doesn't have any luck.	Notre équipe n'a pas de chance.
the patience	la patience
The boss doesn't have any patience.	Le chef n'a pas de patience.
I don't have any patience with this client.	Je n'ai pas de patience avec ce client.
You are lucky!	Tu as de la chance !
We are lucky with this teacher.	Nous avons de la chance avec ce professeur.

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