les vs des

AnnC1Kwiziq 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 4 years ago
TomC1 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

 

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

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

AlanC1 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.

AlanC1 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.

ChrisC1 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.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Thinking...