1 I've been learning French for a few years, but one question has always bothered me, that is, I don't know when to use "de" with articles and when to not. For example, if I wanted to say "responsibility of teachers", as in To be a good teacher, you need to understand the responsibilities of teachers. Should I say: When you are talking about a portion of one item (food, like "some bread"), or something that cannot be quantified (quality, like "some patience"), use what the French call "a partitive article." du (+ masculine word) de la (+ feminine word) de l' - (followed by a vowel) .

french prepositions de du de la des