Lesson 19: Food, Drinks & the Partitive
À table ! — Food, Drinks & the Partitive Article · A0 → A1 · Part 3 · Food, Shopping & Going Out
You will name the most common foods and drinks in French, always with their article. You will learn the partitive article du / de la / de l' / des and understand why French needs it. You will also be able to say what you eat and drink with manger, boire and prendre.
In this lesson
- food vocabulary
- drinks
- du / de la / de l' / des
- je mange / je bois
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le pain | the bread | luh pan لُہ پاں | Masculine (le). The 'ain' is a nasal sound — air goes through the nose. Final n is not said as a normal n. |
| le riz | the rice | luh ree لُہ ری | Masculine (le). The final z of riz is silent. Say 'ree'. |
| la viande | the meat | la vyand لا ویاند | Feminine (la). 'viande' = vee-YAND. The final e is silent. |
| le poulet | the chicken | luh poo-leh لُہ پولے | Masculine (le). Final t is silent. Also means a live chicken, but in food it means chicken meat. |
| le poisson | the fish | luh pwa-son لُہ پواسوں | Masculine (le). 'oi' = 'wa'. The 'ss' is a hard s — poisson (fish) not poison (poison). |
| les légumes | the vegetables | lay lay-güm * لے لے گُوم * | Masculine plural (les). There is no honest English spelling for the French 'u' — round your lips as for 'oo' and say 'ee'. |
| la salade | the salad / lettuce | la sa-lad لا سالاد | Feminine (la). In France 'la salade' is also the green salad leaves you eat before the main dish. |
| la pomme | the apple | la pom لا پوم | Feminine (la). One apple = une pomme. Remember: la pomme de terre (potato) is literally 'earth apple'. |
| la banane | the banana | la ba-nan لا بانان | Feminine (la). The final e is silent but the n before it is a normal n — ba-NAN. |
| le fromage | the cheese | luh fruh-mazh لُہ فْرُوماج | Masculine (le). The 'ge' gives the sound 'zh' — like the s in 'measure'. |
| les œufs | the eggs | lay z-uh لے زُہ | Masculine plural (les). One egg is 'un œuf' and you DO say the f. In the plural the f is silent: 'lay ZUH'. |
| le sucre | the sugar | luh sük-r * لُہ سُوکْر * | Masculine (le). The 'u' is the tight French u, not Urdu و. The final 're' is a soft 'r'. |
| le sel | the salt | luh sel لُہ سیل | Masculine (le). You DO hear the final l — remember the C-R-F-L rule from lesson 1. |
| la soupe | the soup | la soop لا سوپ | Feminine (la). Say 'soop' with a long, round oo. |
| l'eau | the water | lo لو | Feminine, but it starts with a vowel, so le + eau becomes l'eau. It is one smooth sound: 'lo'. |
| le café | the coffee / the café | luh ka-fay لُہ کافے | Masculine (le). In a French café, 'un café' usually means a small black espresso. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| du pain | dü pan | dü ... pan | The u in 'du' is the tight French u: lips rounded like a whistle, tongue saying 'ee'. English 'do' and Urdu 'دُو' are both wrong. The 'ain' of pain is nasal — do not close the n with the tongue. |
| de la viande | duh la vyand | duh ... la ... vyand | Say the three words as one smooth block: 'duhlavyand'. The 'an' in viande is nasal, and the final e is completely silent. |
| de l'eau | duh lo | duh ... lo | The l' attaches to the vowel: 'duh-LO'. Two syllables only, both very short. Do not say 'duh luh o'. |
| les œufs | lay z-uh | lay ... z-uh | The f disappears in the plural. The 'œu' is like the 'u' in English 'fur' but shorter and rounder. One egg = 'un œuf' with a clear f — a rare, famous exception. |
| un jus d'orange | un zhü do-ranzh | un ... zhü ... do-ranzh | 'jus' rhymes with the French u again. D'orange links onto the o: 'do-ranzh'. The 'ge' is a zh sound. |
| le fromage | luh fruh-mazh | luh ... fruh ... mazh | The 'o' in fromage is a small 'uh' sound, not a round Urdu و. Stress the last syllable lightly: fruh-MAZH. |
Lesson 19 sound focus: the four partitive forms must be light and fast. Never stress them — in French the article is quiet and the noun carries the meaning.
Grammar
L'article partitif — du, de la, de l', des
Sometimes you do not talk about a WHOLE thing, you talk about an unspecified amount of it. 'I eat bread' does not mean I eat a whole loaf. In French you cannot say 'je mange pain' and you cannot say 'je mange le pain' (that would mean all the bread in the world). So French uses a little word in front of the noun: this is the partitive article. du + masculine noun (du pain, du riz, du fromage), de la + feminine noun (de la viande, de la soupe), de l' + a noun starting with a vowel or silent h (de l'eau, de l'orange), des + plural (des légumes, des œufs). Remember: du is really 'de + le', and des is 'de + les'. That is why there is no 'de le' or 'de les'.
Manger, boire, prendre — the three food verbs
Three verbs do almost all the work at the table. MANGER (to eat) is a normal -er verb, but in the nous form you keep the e: nous mangeons. BOIRE (to drink) is irregular: je bois, nous buvons. PRENDRE (to take / to have) is the most useful of all, because French people say 'je prends un café' for 'I'll have a coffee' — not 'je bois un café'. Learn these six forms by heart; you will use them every single day.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Je mange du pain. | I eat some bread. | zhuh monzh dü pan |
| Elle mange de la viande. | She eats some meat. | el monzh duh la vyand |
| Nous mangeons du riz et du poulet. | We eat rice and chicken. | noo mon-zhon dü ree ay dü poo-leh |
| Le matin, je bois du thé. | In the morning I drink some tea. | luh ma-tan, zhuh bwa dü tay |
| Elle boit de l'eau. | She drinks some water. | el bwa duh lo |
| Tu bois du jus d'orange ? | Are you drinking orange juice? | tü bwa dü zhü do-ranzh |
| Je prends du lait chaud. | I'm having some warm milk. | zhuh pran dü leh sho |
| J'aime le café, mais je bois du thé. | I like coffee, but I drink tea. | zhem luh ka-fay, meh zhuh bwa dü tay |
| Il y a de la soupe et des légumes. | There is some soup and some vegetables. | eel ya duh la soop ay day lay-güm |
| Je mange une pomme et une banane. | I eat an apple and a banana. | zhuh monzh ün pom ay ün ba-nan |
| Nous prenons du fromage et des œufs. | We're having some cheese and some eggs. | noo pruh-non dü fruh-mazh ay day z-uh |
| Vous mangez de la salade ? | Are you having some salad? | voo mon-zhay duh la sa-lad |
| Je n'aime pas le sucre. | I don't like sugar. | zhuh nem pa luh sük-r |
| Le sel et le poivre, s'il vous plaît. | Salt and pepper, please. | luh sel ay luh pwav-r, seel voo pleh |
Dialogue: À table, en famille
French families say 'Bon appétit !' to each other before eating. It means 'enjoy your meal' and is said to everyone at the table, even strangers in a restaurant.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maman | À table ! Le dîner est prêt. | To the table! Dinner is ready. | a tabl, luh dee-nay eh preh |
| Ali | Ça sent très bon ! Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ? | That smells very good! What are we eating? | sa san treh bon, kes kon monzh |
| Maman | De la soupe, du poulet et du riz. | Some soup, some chicken and some rice. | duh la soop, dü poo-leh ay dü ree |
| Ali | Et comme boisson ? | And to drink? | ay kom bwa-son |
| Maman | De l'eau ou du jus d'orange. | Some water or some orange juice. | duh lo oo dü zhü do-ranzh |
| Ali | De l'eau, s'il te plaît. J'aime beaucoup les légumes ! | Some water, please. I really like vegetables! | duh lo, seel tuh pleh, zhem bo-koo lay lay-güm |
| Maman | Bon appétit, mon chéri ! | Enjoy your meal, dear! | bo na-pay-tee, mon shay-ree |
Say it out loud
- Je mange du pain. — I eat some bread. Keep 'du' very short. The stress falls on 'pain'.
- Je bois de l'eau. — I drink some water. Link 'de l'eau' into one unit: duh-LO.
- Elle prend du café. — She's having some coffee. Remember: je prends, elle prend — no -s in the il/elle form.
- Nous mangeons de la viande. — We eat some meat. Nous mangeons keeps the e: mon-zhon.
- J'aime le thé, mais je bois du café. — I like tea, but I drink coffee. Hear the difference: le thé = in general, du café = some, now.
- Tu prends des légumes ? — Are you having some vegetables? Rising intonation at the end turns it into a question.
- Le fromage et les œufs, s'il vous plaît. — The cheese and the eggs, please. Say 'lay ZUH' — the f of œufs is silent in the plural.
- Bon appétit ! — Enjoy your meal! One flowing phrase: 'bo-na-pay-tee'. The final t is silent.
Listening practice: Ali raconte sa journée
Bonjour, je m'appelle Ali. Le matin, je prends du pain et du fromage. Je bois du thé. À midi, je mange du riz et du poulet. L'après-midi, je mange une pomme. Le soir, je mange de la soupe. Je bois de l'eau. Je n'aime pas le sucre.
Hello, my name is Ali. In the morning I have some bread and some cheese. I drink some tea. At midday I eat some rice and some chicken. In the afternoon I eat an apple. In the evening I eat some soup. I drink some water. I don't like sugar.
Questions
- What does Ali have in the morning? Bread and cheese / Rice and chicken / Soup and salad → Bread and cheese
- What does he drink in the morning? Coffee / Tea / Water → Tea
- What does he eat at midday? An apple / Rice and chicken / Bread and cheese → Rice and chicken
- What does he eat in the evening? Soup / Fish / Eggs → Soup
- What does he NOT like? Salt / Vegetables / Sugar → Sugar
Remember this
- Food nouns always come with an article: le pain, la viande, les légumes.
- Partitive: du + masculine (du pain), de la + feminine (de la viande), de l' + vowel (de l'eau), des + plural (des légumes).
- du = de + le, des = de + les. 'de le' and 'de les' never exist.
- Use the partitive for an amount you do not count; use un / une for one single countable thing (une pomme).
- J'aime le café = I like coffee in general. Je bois du café = I'm having some coffee.
- MANGER: je mange, tu manges, il mange, nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils mangent.
- BOIRE: je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent.
- PRENDRE: je prends, tu prends, il prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils prennent.
- French people order and offer with prendre: Je prends un café.
- Bon appétit ! is said before a meal to everyone at the table.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je mange pain. | Je mange du pain. | In French a noun almost never stands alone. You need an article: du, de la, de l', des, un or une. |
| Je mange de le fromage. | Je mange du fromage. | de + le always becomes du, and de + les always becomes des. 'De le' and 'de les' do not exist. |
| Je bois de la eau. | Je bois de l'eau. | Before a vowel, la and le both shorten to l'. So it is de l'eau, de l'orange, de l'huile. |
| Je bois un café (when you simply mean you drink coffee in general) | J'aime le café. / Je bois du café. | Un café means one single cup. For a general habit or an unmeasured amount use le or du. |
| nous mangons | nous mangeons | The e keeps the g soft. Without it, 'mangons' would be read with a hard g sound. |
Practice questions
- You want to say 'I eat some bread'. Which is correct? Je mange le pain. / Je mange du pain. / Je mange un pain. / Je mange pain. — Je mange du pain.
- la viande is feminine. Complete: Je mange ___ viande. du / de la / de le / des — de la
- Complete: Elle boit ___ eau. du / de la / de l' / des — de l'
- Which is correct for 'some vegetables'? des légumes / de la légumes / du légumes / un légumes — des légumes
- 'J'aime le café' means: I would like a coffee now / I like coffee in general / I am drinking a coffee / I don't like coffee — I like coffee in general
- 'Je bois du café' means: I like coffee in general / I never drink coffee / I'm having some coffee (now) / I want to buy coffee — I'm having some coffee (now)
- Choose the correct BOIRE form for je: je boit / je bois / je boire / je buvez — je bois
- Choose the correct MANGER form for nous: nous mangons / nous mangeons / nous mangez / nous mangent — nous mangeons
- You are eating one whole apple. Complete: Je mange ___ pomme. de la / du / une / des — une
- How do you say 'I eat fish and rice'? Je mange du poisson et du riz. / Je mange le poisson et le riz. / Je mange poisson et riz. / Je mange de poisson et de riz. — Je mange du poisson et du riz.
Homework (15 minutes)
1) Listen to every word in this lesson three times and repeat out loud. 2) Open your kitchen, point at 8 things and name them in French with the correct article (le / la / les). 3) Write 6 sentences about your own day using manger, boire and prendre plus du / de la / de l' / des: what you eat in the morning, at midday and in the evening, and what you drink. 4) Record yourself saying 'Je bois du thé' and 'J'aime le thé' and notice the difference between du and le.
Lesson 19 of 45 · Part 3 · Food, Shopping & Going Out · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2