De versus du

Hi G,

"Quant aux poses de (preposition) yoga ...."   (in the sense OF yoga in English)

"Finalement, n'oublions pas le côté méditatif de (preposition) le (definite article) = du (of the )yoga."

It is very tricky but unfortunately, only a detailed study of French grammar articles will help going forward.

Hope this input helps.

Bonne journée

Jim

Jim's right: to know exactly when and when not to use the definite article is not always easy in French. Let's look at the two instances one after the other:

Quant aux poses de yoga = quant à+les (poses de yoga)

The phrase poses de yoga is treated as if it were a single noun with the article les in front. Les poses de yoga means "the yoga poses", and les poses du yoga would mean "the poses of the yoga".

Le côté méditatif du yoga -- the meditative side of yoga. I know that in English there is no definitive article present yet in French there is. In this case, though, yoga is used by itself and not as les poses de yoga, where the definitive article les applies to the entire complex.

Thank you Jim and Chris, your suggestions do help. I need to do a deep dive on this topic. Can anyone suggest a good resource for mastering this?

Of all the grammar rules in french, this is the one that I’ve never been able to grasp.

I put des when it should be les, de when it should be du even after having thoroughly thought it through and still get it wrong.

I was hoping there was a handy little trick or something that I could use to get it right.

It’s a bit like the often complained about passé composé vs imparfait. You (Chris) suggested in a previous comment to translate the french imparfait to english to get a feel for how the french would hear it?(can’t remember the exact details).... anyway I use that method and find it an extremely helpful tip.

I'm feeling with you  when you long for a neat little trick to guide you in the use of the French definite article. Unfortunately, I don't know of any. Whenever I hit an issue like this in learning a new language, I tell myself that French kids are able to master this, so I should be able too. The trick is that kids don't fuss too much over it. They immerse themselves in the language and learn by assimilation. Your brain can do that too, if you allow yourself to relax and not fret too much over each time you get it wrong. Just make a mental note and repeat the sentence a couple of times the way it should be. Don't use too much logic, trust your innate power of learning a language.

Hi G

You may like to try this resource:-

https://www.francaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-francais-2/exercice-francais-3227.php

This is not meant to direct you away from kwiziq of course, just another angle on this important grammar subject.

Bonne continuation et bonne journée,

Jim