jannaliblackburn

[pearl cargo]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[lost otter]

Actually In the first case des = de les (preposition + definite article)
While it's an indefinite article in the second case

[tulip blaze]

They’re both prepositions. If it were the indefinite, why would it lack the plural?

Anyway, OP, the difference is the definite article « le/la/les ». For the first one, it’s specific as in it describes a specific set of schools. For the second, it’s general because the factories are not making a specific type of shoe but just shoes in general.

Using just your first example:
« La direction d’écoles est mauvaise »
This describes the general management of schools. By this generality, you’re talking about all schools.
« La direction des écoles dans le sud est mauvaise. »
This describes the management of some specific schools, specifically those in the south; it implies that those not in the south, like the north, aren’t badly managed.

[untold hazel]

Ohhh compris mtn, merci