"Tout" or "de tout"

[Curt Jugg]

Hi.

 

If one says , "Je n'ai plus rien dans le frigo. ll faut que j'achète de tout", what is the significance of the "de" in the second sentence? In other words, how is it different in meaning from, "Il faut que j'achète tout"?

Thanks for your help.

[Erwan]

Il faut que j'achète tout : I 've to buy everything

Il faut que j'achète de tout : I've to buy some pieces of everything.

[Adam Kim]

De does mean "some of" to indicate partitive of something* OR negatively mean "any" or "any of"**.

 

* See explanation

** Like in English: "I don't have any shirt." "I don't have any of the stuffs."

 

"Il faut que j'achète de tout." could be strictly translate as "I've to buy some (part or portion) of everything."

 

De is a tricky, but very powerful, French adposition.

[Curt Jugg]

Thanks, Adam

[Ed la mouette]

Little addition to Erwan's answer (almost a palindrom, wow !) : you must understand "de tout" as a contraction of "un peu de tout" (a little bit of everything).

[Erwan]

very funny the palindrom :-)

[Curt Jugg]

Many thanks, Erwan and Ed