French Expressions of Quantity

What are French expressions of quantity?

Expressions of quantity in French include words such as beaucoup de (a lot of), trop de (too much), peu de (little, few) and assez de (enough). The following list offers a complete list of quantity words and expressions. We’ve included some example sentences below the list.

Adverbs

a lot of beaucoup de
a lot of pas mal de
a minimum of un maximum de
a minimum of un minimum de
about environ
almost, nearly presque
approximately à peu près
as much as autant de
enough suffisant de
enough assez de
few peu de
how much (many) combien de
less moins de
majority of la majorité de
more plus de
so much, so many tant de
too much trop de

Adjectives

triple triple
little petit, petite
half demi, demie
full plein, pleine
entire entier, entière
empty vide
each chaque
double double
big gros, grosse

Approximate amounts

a fistful of une poignée de
a mouthful of une bouchée de
a part of une part de, une partie de
a piece of un morceau de
a piece of une pièce de
a portion of une portion de
a quantity of une quantié de
several, many plusieurs

Containers

a can / box of une boîte de
a bowl of un bol de
a glass of un verre de
a plate of une assiette de
a cup of une tasse de

Measurements

a pound of une livre de
a liter of un litre de
a kilogram of un kilo de

How to form quantity sentences

To express quantities, most of the above expressions use the following grammatical structure: Quantity word + de + noun. The definite article (le, la, les) is not included. Here are examples:

Il a beaucoup de voitures. He has a lot of cars.
Nous avons peu de temps. We have time.
Ils ont assez d’argent. They have enough money.
Je prends un morceau de pain. I take a piece of bread.
J’ai une dizaine d’amis en France. I have about ten friends in France.
J’achète un kilo de pommes. I’m buying one kilo of apples.

When dealing with specific numbers there’s no need to use de. For example:

J’achète trois bananes. I buy three bananas.
Nous avons trois heures. We have three hours.
Ils ont un kilo de pommes de terre. They have one kilo of potatoes.

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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