Questions & Answers about Je bois juste un peu d'eau.
Why is it d'eau instead of de l'eau?
Normally, 'some water' translates to de l'eau. However, after expressions of quantity like un peu de (a little of) or beaucoup de (a lot of), we drop the article (le, la, or l') that usually goes with the noun. Since eau starts with a vowel, de simply shortens to d'. How does un peu relate to the current lesson on beaucoup?
They work exactly the same way! Just like beaucoup (a lot), un peu (a little) is an adverb of quantity. When followed by a noun, they both require the word de (beaucoup de, un peu de) and they never use the words le, la, or les after that de. Where does the word juste go in a French sentence?
In French, short adverbs like juste (just or only) usually go right after the conjugated verb. While in English you put 'just' before the action ('I am just drinking'), in French it attaches directly after the verb: Je bois juste. What verb is bois and why does it translate to 'am drinking'?
bois comes from the irregular verb boire (to drink). For 'I', the correct form is je bois. Remember that French doesn't have a separate tense for actions happening right now. Je bois can mean 'I drink', 'I do drink', or 'I am drinking' depending on the context. Learn Je bois juste un peu d'eau and more in French
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