Breakdown of Le tailleur coupe le quart d'un mètre de tissu.
un
a / an (masculine)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
le quart
the quarter
couper
to cut
Questions & Answers about Le tailleur coupe le quart d'un mètre de tissu.
The English translation says "a quarter", so why does the French use le quart instead of un quart?
French frequently uses the definite article (le or la) for fractions of a whole, such as la moitié (a half), le tiers (a third), and le quart (a quarter). While you can sometimes use un quart, the phrase le quart de is the standard and most natural way to say "a quarter of" a specific quantity.
Why is there a d' before un mètre?
Why does the sentence use de tissu instead of du tissu?
This is a strict rule in French: specific expressions of quantity are always followed by a simple de (or d'), without combining it with a definite article like le. Just as you would say beaucoup de tissu (a lot of fabric), you must say un mètre de tissu (a meter of fabric).