or 'elle a les cheveux longs et blond'. I wonder if 2 of the following are correct also?
elle a des cheveux longs et blonds
elle a les longs cheveux blonds
Look at these general statements:
Il déteste le café.
He hates coffee.
La vie est compliquée.
Life is complicated.
In English, we drop the when talking about things in general, but notice that in French, when talking about things in general or abstractly, you must use le, la, l', or les (the definite article).
ATTENTION:
Whereas partitive articles du, de la, de l', des and indefinite articles un, une become de or d' in negative sentences [See Du, de la, de l', des all become de or d' in negative sentences (partitive articles) and Un, une become de or d' in negative sentences (indefinite articles)], this rule doesn't apply to definite articles le, la, l' or les which remain the same in negative sentences:
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
J'adore la France!
I love France!
La nourriture est chère.
Food is expensive.
Elle aime le chocolat!
She loves chocolat!
Le vin blanc me donne des maux de tête.
White wine gives me headaches.
J'adore les toiles d'araignées
I love spider webs!
On n'aime pas la musique classique.
We dont like classical music.
Les plantes produisent l’oxygène.
Plants produce oxygen.
Il déteste l'alcool.
He hates alcohol.
Il déteste le café.
He hates coffee.
Ils cherchent le bonheur.
They seek happiness.
La vie est compliquée.
Life is complicated.
J'adore les concombres!
I love cucumbers!
Elle n'aime pas les bonbons.
She doesn't like sweets.
Q&A Forum 9 questions, 19 answers
In a writing practice, the translation for 'she has long blond hair' is either 'elle a de longs cheveux blonds'
Asked 1 month ago
Joan asked:View original
In a writing practice, the translation for 'she has long blond hair' is either 'elle a de longs cheveux blonds'
or 'elle a les cheveux longs et blond'. I wonder if 2 of the following are correct also?
elle a des cheveux longs et blonds
elle a les longs cheveux blonds
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Is it possible to say: le chômage c'est un gros problème - with c'est instead of just est?
Asked 2 months ago
Hi Sylvia,
You can say either -
'Le chômage est un gros problème'
or
Le chômage, c'est un gros problème
Both meaning,
'Unemployment is a big problem'
Hope this helps!
Sylvia asked:View original
Is it possible to say: le chômage c'est un gros problème - with c'est instead of just est?
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So if I want to say: "I like girls" I would have to say "J'aime les filles"???? I can't just say: "J'aime filles"? & cant I use the partitive here ?
Asked 4 months ago
Hi Bruno,
As is said in the lesson -
"In English, we drop the when talking about things in general, but notice that in French, when talking about things in general or abstractly, you must use le, la, l', or les (the definite article). "
So you will say :
J'aime les filles, le chocolat, le football, ....
Hope this is clearer...
Bruno asked:View original
So if I want to say: "I like girls" I would have to say "J'aime les filles"???? I can't just say: "J'aime filles"? & cant I use the partitive here ?
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J'aime écouter la musique.
In this case, I refer musique as general thing. Am I correct?
Asked 4 months ago
Joan asked:View original
J'aime écouter la musique.
In this case, I refer musique as general thing. Am I correct?
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Articles OR no articles depending on the context?
In this Weekend Workout (5-10-2018) in the 'Californian Dream' level C1 quiz we are asked to translate:
'But what fascinated her the most remained this image of a land both arid and lush, which comprised desert, forests, ocean and mountains,'
Two possible anwers were given (see below) one with articles and the other without articles.
Is this perhaps because the one with articles relates to general things BUT the one without articles relates to specific things (a specific forest, say, rather than forests in general)? Could you please advise/explain.
Answer 1. qui comprenait le désert, les forêts, l'océan et les montagnes,
Answer 2. qui comprenait désert, forêts, océan et montagnes,
Asked 9 months ago
Hi Stewart,
It is just a stylistic tool used to recite/declame in literature which you would not find in spoken French.
It made me think of a beautiful Lamartine poem ( French romantic poet) called Le Lac where he asks time to stand still so that he can savour the moment :
"... ô lac! rochets muets! grottes! forêt obscure
Vous que le temps épargne ou qu'il peut rajeunir..."
Here is a link to it if you are interested -
https://poesie.webnet.fr/lesgrandsclassiques/poemes/alphonse_de_lamartine/le_lac
Hope this helps!
Both refer to general things but are stylistically different. You can find traces of this in English as well:
I love forest, sea and sky.
I love the forest, the sea and the sky.
Both versions say the same thing but they have a different "ring" to it.
Input from a native speaker would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Cécile (and Chris) Thank you for the response.
Do I understand correctly thay the sentence without the articles would typically be found only in, say, a novel or a poem but the sentence with the articles is the one that should be used in spoken French?
According to A Student Grammar of French by Malcolm Offord, the articles are also often omitted (in lists) in journalism.
CécileKwiziq language super star
Hi Stewart,
Yes, your last comment is correct, the lack of articles is used for lyrical purposes.
In normal speech you will need an article unlike ( sometimes) in English.
Look at the following examples:
If you have time, come and see me = Si vous avez le temps, passez me voir
Or, describing what a person might have going for her -
Elle a beaucoup d'humour, des amis merveilleux, un mari adorable, de beaux enfants = She has humour, wonderful friends, a wonderful husband, beautiful children
Knowing which one to use is more tricky!
Hope this helps!
English is actually quite tricky in this respect. Consider this:
If you have time, I'd love to visit.
If you can spare the time, I'd love to visit.
The article is used for some verbs and not for others in English. Try to explain that to someone learning English :)
Stewart asked:View original
Articles OR no articles depending on the context?
In this Weekend Workout (5-10-2018) in the 'Californian Dream' level C1 quiz we are asked to translate:
'But what fascinated her the most remained this image of a land both arid and lush, which comprised desert, forests, ocean and mountains,'
Two possible anwers were given (see below) one with articles and the other without articles.
Is this perhaps because the one with articles relates to general things BUT the one without articles relates to specific things (a specific forest, say, rather than forests in general)? Could you please advise/explain.
Answer 1. qui comprenait le désert, les forêts, l'océan et les montagnes,
Answer 2. qui comprenait désert, forêts, océan et montagnes,
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When to use the partitive article when talking about general things?
It looks like sometimes you use the partitive article 'des' even when referring to general things, for example:
Le vin blanc me donne des maux de tête.
or the following sentence from an exercise: 'J'étudierais un sujet qui me plaît, en rencontrant des gens intéressants
Can someone explain this please?
Asked 9 months ago
Hi Madeleine,
Thank you for your very interesting question and I will try and answer it.
In French for generalities you imply that it is almost a fact as in,
'Les enfants aiment le chocolat et les bonbons.'
It is not true of every child but of most of them.
I think you have to use the partitive in the two examples you give because:
'white wine clearly give you (some/a) headache'
In the second example 'you will meet (some) interesting people while studying...'
You might say: ' J'aime les gens intéressants' in that case it is all of the people under that genus.
It is so instinctive it's quite hard to explain...
Hope it helps!
Madeleine asked:View original
When to use the partitive article when talking about general things?
It looks like sometimes you use the partitive article 'des' even when referring to general things, for example:
Le vin blanc me donne des maux de tête.
or the following sentence from an exercise: 'J'étudierais un sujet qui me plaît, en rencontrant des gens intéressants
Can someone explain this please?
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des maux de tête
Maux is the plural of mal? When do we use maux instead of mal? I thought headache is mal à la tête. How come à/aux is not even in the sentence? Thanks.
Asked 2 years ago
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Johnny !
Here it's a difference of usage of the noun "un mal" (an ache).
In the expression "J'ai mal à la tête.", you're using "mal" without an article, similarly to the expression "avoir pitié de" (to have pity for). You're literally saying "I have ache to the head.".
When you're using the expression "des maux de tête" (literally: head aches), you're using the plural of "mal", which is "maux". It's just another way to say "headache" in French.
I hope that's helpful !
Johnny asked:View original
des maux de tête
Maux is the plural of mal? When do we use maux instead of mal? I thought headache is mal à la tête. How come à/aux is not even in the sentence? Thanks.
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AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Susan !
In this sentence, it's because we're considering that oxygen is not a countable thing (i.e. "Plants produce some oxygen."), therefore you need to use the partitive article, i.e. de l' .
However, I agree that in this case, plants produce oxygen in general, therefore it would be more accurate to say : "Les plantes produisent l'oxygène.".
Thanks to you, I edited the example.
Merci et à bientôt !
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Meaning of 'le'
I'm sure you've heard this a million times already, but if "il déteste le café" is "he hates coffee" then how does one say "he hates the coffee?"
Asked 3 years ago
Joakim asked:View original
Meaning of 'le'
I'm sure you've heard this a million times already, but if "il déteste le café" is "he hates coffee" then how does one say "he hates the coffee?"
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