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Quantity expressions with 'de'

When learning French, you quickly get used to putting an article in front of every noun. If you want some bread, you ask for du pain. If you want some apples, you ask for des pommes. However, a major exception occurs when you specify the quantity.

If you use an expression of quantity like beaucoup, trop, or un peu, the article vanishes. You are left with a simple de to connect the quantity to the noun.

Word list
beaucoupA1 many beaucoup de = a lot of peuA1 little peu de = little of, not much of peu deA1 few peu de = few, not many plusA1 more plus de = more of un petit peuA1 a little un petit peu de = a little bit of un peuA1 a little un peu de = a little of assezA2 enough assez de = enough of combienA2 how much combien de = how much of combienA2 how many combien de = how many of tropA2 too much trop de = too much of suffisammentB1 enough suffisamment de = enough of
The basic rule

Adverbs of quantity are followed immediately by a bare de, which becomes d' before a vowel or mute h. The partitive articles like du, de la, and des are completely dropped. You will never say beaucoup du pain, only beaucoup de pain.

J'ai beaucoup de devoirs aujourd'hui.
(I have a lot of homework today.)
Il y a trop de sucre dans mon café.
(There is too much sugar in my coffee.)
Elle a assez d'argent pour le voyage.
(She has enough money for the trip.)
Little, a little, and more

This rule applies to both large and small quantities. Words like peu, un peu, un petit peu, and plus behave exactly the same way. Simply place de right after them.

Je voudrais juste un petit peu de sel.
(I would like just a little bit of salt.)
J'ai beaucoup de questions, mais peu de temps.
(I have lots of questions, but little time.)
Il nous faut plus de chaises.
(We need more chairs.)
Asking questions and having enough

The question word combien also triggers this rule, whether you are asking about an uncountable noun or a countable one. The adverb suffisamment does the same thing.

Combien de sucre veux-tu ?
(How much sugar do you want?)
Combien de billets avez-vous achetés ?
(How many tickets did you buy?)
Nous avons suffisamment de place ici.
(We have enough room here.)
Watch out: Specific sets

There is a catch. The article is only dropped for general, unspecified quantities. If you are talking about a specific, defined group, the definite article stays. For example, if you say "a lot of the books I read", you are specifying exactly which books you mean. In that case, de combines with les to become des: beaucoup des livres que j'ai lus.

As long as you are talking about general amounts, stick to the bare de. Other common quantity words, such as moins de (less of) and autant de (as much of), also follow this bare de rule.

Summary

Whenever you use an expression of general quantity like beaucoup, trop, or combien, drop the partitive or definite article and follow the word directly with a bare de or d'.