Je ne mange pas de poisson.

Andrea N.B2Kwiziq community member

Je ne mange pas de poisson.

 If le la les don't change with negation, should the above general statement  have   'le poisson ' instead of 'de' ?

 

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/questions/view/what-to-use-when-speaking-about-generalities

Just found the above link which answers the above query. To save time, a few sentences on this subject would enhance this lesson considerably.

Asked 2 years ago
CélineNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Andrea,

You are correct that when generalising you still use "le, la, les" even in a negation (see the examples below):

J'aime le poisson I like fish -> general statement of opinion

Je n'aime pas le poisson I don't like fish -> general statement of opinion

However, "je ne mange pas le poisson" isn't a generalisation - see below:

Je mange le poisson = I eat the fish -> this fish right here

Je ne mange pas le poisson = I don't eat the fish -> this fish right here

Instead, if you wish to say you eat or don't eat a type of food, you follow the pattern below:

Je mange du (de + le) poisson  = I eat (some) fish 

-> all types of fish - partitive article / unaccountable although it is a general statement

 

Je ne mange pas de poisson = I don't eat fish 

-> no fish whatsoever - partitive article / unaccountable although it is a general statement

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

SEHAJ B.Kwiziq community member

yes it would be 'de'  instead of 'le poisson'. 

Je ne mange pas de poisson.

 If le la les don't change with negation, should the above general statement  have   'le poisson ' instead of 'de' ?

 

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/questions/view/what-to-use-when-speaking-about-generalities

Just found the above link which answers the above query. To save time, a few sentences on this subject would enhance this lesson considerably.

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