de la

See also: Appendix:Variations of "dela"

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də la/

• Audio:

  (file)

Article

de la f (masculine du, plural des)

1. of the
2. some; the feminine partitive article

   Voudriez-vous de la confiture ? ― Would you like some jam?

   J’ai mangé de la tarte ― I ate some pie.

Usage notes

• While English does have the partitive determiner some, the French article de la frequently translates to nothing at all in English; for example, the above example « J'ai mangé de la tarte » could also be translated simply as “I ate pie.”
• Like the definite article la (from which it derives), the partitive article de la undergoes elision, becoming de l’- before most words that start with vowel sounds.

Further reading

• “de la”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

de + la, literally, “from at”.

Preposition

de la (+accusative)

1. from (spatial, relational, causal)

   Synonyms: de, din (not interchangeable)

   Au furat ceva de la casa ta. ― They stole something from your house.

   Am învățat mult de la tine. ― I've learned a lot from you.

   Am obosit de la citit. ― I'm tired from reading.

   de la A la Z ― from A to Z

   de la distanță ― from afar

2. from, since (temporal)

   Synonyms: de, din (not interchangeable, see notes)

   Este treaz de la ora opt. ― He is awake since eight o'clock.

   de la început ― from the beginning

3. by (instrumental)

   de la sine ― by itself

4. Word to join the parts of a compound; sometimes corresponding to "of".

   Synonym: de

   buzunar de la pantalon ― pant pocket

   apă de la robinet ― tap water

   abatere de la lege ― breach of law

Usage notes

• When constructing phrases of the form "from X to Y", it is usually accompanied by "(până) la": "de la X (până) la Y"

(since (temporal)):

de la is usually used together with a fixed point in time (though not with dates):

de la ora nouă ― since nine o'clock

de la ianuarie ― since January

din is usually used together with dates or in certain expressions:

din (anul) 2000 ― since (the year) 2000

din acel moment ― from that moment on

de is usually used for time frames:

de un an ― for a year

de mult timp ― for a long time

Derived terms

• de la sine
• de la distanță, de la depărtare
• de la început, de la bun început
• de la cap la coadă
• de la un capăt la altul
• de la A la Z
• de la Ana la Caiafa
• de la egal la egal
• de la caz la caz

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de la/ [d̪e la]
• Syllabification: de la

Article

de la

1. of the