Answers
Aug 09, 2011 - 08:06 AM
I am not sure what the rule but it helps me to think of the translation in a more literal way. You know you cannot say "Elle veut acheter cadeaux.." because that means all the gifts in the world. So it helps to think of the "des" as meaning "(some) of the" or just "some". You would not say "some of gifts" so you need the article, "des" not "de". But you CAN say "a lot of gifts" without any article. Therefore, "beaucoup de cadeaux."
Aug 06, 2012 - 12:34 AM
"Beaucoup de" is an adverb of quantity, and explains how much or how many. Other adverbs of quantity include "moins de," "plus de," and "combien de," and the "de" stands alone (i.e., there is no article added to it that would make it "de la," "du," or "des"). Here's a great website with a more detailed explanation: http://french.about.com/library/weekl... And, because it's French, there are always exceptions, so sometimes "beaucoup des" is not wrong: http://french.about.com/od/mistakes/a/beaucoupdes.htm.