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 abouts 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
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.
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.
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
11/10/16
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 !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
5/09/16
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 !
Susan
Kwiziq community member
5/09/16
Joakim
Kwiziq community member
3 June 2016
1 reply
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?"
Prateek
Kwiziq community member
3/06/16
Madeleine
Kwiziq community member
22 September 2018
0 replies
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?