De / les

Clara O.A1Kwiziq community member

De / les

Hi, 

I thought we had to use de after negative sentences -

Elle n'aime pas les bonbons - is given as an example

Would it not be: Elle n'aime pas de bonbons? 

Unsure why les has been used here 

Asked 3 weeks ago
CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Clara,

When using verbs of preferences (such as aimer, préférer, détester, etc.), you will need to use the definite articles as you're giving a general opinion. This is not the case when using verbs of action with a partitive article (such as avoir, manger, boire, etc.).

Je bois du café -> Je ne bois pas de café

-> You're describing what you're doing / "du" is a partitive article

J'aime le café -> Je n'aime pas le café

-> You're giving a general opinion / you must use a definite article

 

Take a look below:

Je ne mange pas de poisson.

 

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Clara,  

A frequent source of confusion !

There are two main grammar issues referred to in your question. 

1. The use of ‘ de ‘ in place of partitive/indefinite articles in negations. This applies to most verbs in appropriate situations, as per the lesson I think you are recalling :

 Du/de la/de l'/des all become de/d' in negative sentences (French Partitive Articles) 

And 

2. The rule that definite articles do not change in negations.  This rule is also noted in the lesson I have linked above.

In the lesson you linked, the focus is on the set of verbs of appreciation which are followed by definite articles, not partitives/indefinite articles

For example, In French, you could say 

‘ J’aime/n’aime pas certaines pommes ‘ 

but not 

‘ J’aime des pommes ‘, 

and consequently 

not

‘ Je n’aime pas de pommes ‘ either. 

I think if you review both lessons together, it will be clearer.

Clara O. asked:

De / les

Hi, 

I thought we had to use de after negative sentences -

Elle n'aime pas les bonbons - is given as an example

Would it not be: Elle n'aime pas de bonbons? 

Unsure why les has been used here 

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