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Russia flagthemax
adjective + part of the body Okay, so the rule was: adjective + part of the body -> use indefinite article part of the body + adjective -> use definite article (besides possessive adjectives (tes, ta, ton etc), of course) But then in one of the examples I read this: Elle a de jolies jambes. So not "des" but "de". Why is that? Is it perhaps in order not to confuses "des" as indefinite plural article with "de + les"? Thanks.

Answers · 5

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I'm not sure about you rule "adjective + part of the body -> use indefinite article. part of the body + adjective -> use definite article". Where did you find that? To me, indefinite article VS definite article is determined whether the body part is special or not. For example, "la tête" because there is only one, "un pied" if it makes no difference which one we are talking about.
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Dans l'absolu (de manière théorique), on dira :" tu as de belles jambes" mais dans une situation précise on dira "tu as des belles jambes". Une célèbre réplique de cinéma (Quai des brumes, Jean Gabin à Michelle Morgan) : "t'as de beaux yeux tu sais". L'utilisation de "de" ou "des" dans le cas que vous citez n'est pas liée à une règle mais simplement au contexte.
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Ah, crap. Founds this after I asked the question: "Before a plural adjective which precedes a noun, des usually becomes de. If the adjective comes after the noun, des does not change to de."

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