les vs des

Ann H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

les vs des

In the sentence: Moi qui mangeais que des plats à emporter, why is it correct to use des vs les? My reasoning is that we are talking generally...therefore I used les.

Asked 5 years ago
Tom K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Hi Ann,

My rationale as to why des is correct here is that using les, if not not referring to previously specified entities, would refer to the universe of take-away meals, i.e.all the take -aways in the world.

Tom

 

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

You are referring to takaway food in general, therefore des. With les you'd be referring to specific meals.

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

@Chris - You may be right, but how do you reconcile that with this lesson that says to use les when generalising?

Using le, la, l', les before nouns when generalising (definite articles)

I don't fully understand this myself, but I have a feeling that the rule seems to change when using manger or boire rather than aimer or détester, say.

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I guess you can like all the take-away meals in the world, but you can only eat some of them.

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Personally, I don't like take-away anyway.

les vs des

In the sentence: Moi qui mangeais que des plats à emporter, why is it correct to use des vs les? My reasoning is that we are talking generally...therefore I used les.

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