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Generally with food we use du, de la, de l' and des according to the Gender and Number. In this case is, de+la=de la, or is it simply de+ la salade de tomates? What I mean to ask is that whether the "de" used in this context is strictly equivalent to "of" or does it have to do with what the "thing" is?

PS: I read the answers to this question but couldn't understand the answers. I would request the community to answer in English as I am still learning French.

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In this case de is a preposition used to complement the noun prix. It is not partitive article used to indicate a certain amount. In your terms indeed it is simply “de” (which translates to of) followed by “la salade de tomates”.

What happens in the question you linked is quite different because the complement does not come right next to the noun but is provided as an attribute after the verb être. Moreover “Le prix est de” can only be used to indicate the amount not the object whose price is mentioned.

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  • Thank you for replying (en anglais!). I just want to check my understanding: If I have to say that-The price of cucumbers is 30 euros, then is the following French translation correct:- "Le prix de les concombres est trente euros.?"
    – Student
    Apr 18, 2016 at 19:15
  • “De + les” is always contracted to “des”, both when de is a preposition or a partitive article. Therefore, you would say “le prix des concombres” instead. Apr 18, 2016 at 19:21
  • Okay, I'll remeber that...Will "The price of one cucumber is 30 euros" be equal to "Le prix d'un concombre est trente euros" in French.
    – Student
    Apr 18, 2016 at 19:44
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    Yes… but 30 euros is awefully expensive for a cucumber :-) Apr 18, 2016 at 19:59

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