Why is there no article in "ces héros ont souffert de discrimination"?

Question

I would have thought (and did!) that it should be "ces héros ont souffert de la discrimination" rather than "ces héros ont souffert de discrimination"; in the same way that "ces héros ont subi de la discrimination" was noted as a correct answer.

Is there something specific to "souffrir de" that causes the article to be dropped?

Accepted Answer

John,

yes, it is that the verb expression ‘ souffrir de.. ‘ has a prepositional ‘de’ as part of the verbal structure and no article is used when such verb structures are followed by unmodified nouns. ( Exceptions to this are uncommon but ‘avoir peur de’ and ‘ se méfier de ‘ are noted and explained in the link).

See attached articles from Laura Lawless - note especially discussion under section 4 in first link and section 1 of the 2nd link.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des/

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/de-vs-du-de-la-des-verbs/

Answer

Thank you Maarten. I'm still getting caught out by these!

Answer

John, you are not alone !