Breakdown of Nous utilisons le quart du tissu.
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
du
of the / from the (masculine singular, with plural des)
le quart
the quarter
utiliser
to use
le tissu
the fabric / the cloth
Questions & Answers about Nous utilisons le quart du tissu.
Why does it say le quart (the quarter) when the English translation is "a quarter"?
In French, fractional nouns generally use the definite article (le or la). You will see le quart (a quarter), le tiers (a third), and la moitié (a half) where English naturally uses "a".
Why is it du tissu instead of de tissu? I thought quantities only used de.
You are remembering a great rule! Normally, words of general quantity like beaucoup or un kilo take just de. However, when using fractions like le quart, you are usually specifying a fraction of a specific item. Here it is a quarter of the fabric, so the preposition de (of) and the definite article le (the) contract into du.
Is tissu related to the English word "tissue"?
They share the same historical root, but tissu is a "false friend" for modern English speakers. In French, it means "fabric", "cloth", or "material". If you want a facial tissue to blow your nose, you should ask for un mouchoir or un mouchoir en papier.
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