When is the partitive article used in french?

The partitive articles in French correspond to "some" or "any" in English. There are four forms of the French partitive article depending on the gender

du (masculine singular) - Some bread - Du pain

de la (feminine singular) - Some meat - de la viande

de l' (both masc. or femin.) in front of a vowel or h muet -

some alcohol - de l'alcool

des (Plural) - some sweets (des bonbons)