Les articles at B1 — du café ou le café ?
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The partitive puzzle: why you love LE café but drink DU café.
Some of it vs all of it
« Je bois du café » = some coffee, a quantity (partitive: du, de la, de l’). « J’aime le café » = coffee in general (definite for general statements). Verbs of taste (aimer, adorer, détester, préférer) take the definite; verbs of consumption (boire, manger, acheter, prendre) take the partitive.
Quantities take bare « de »
« beaucoup de café », « un kilo de pommes », « trop de bruit » — after a quantity word, no article at all.
💡 Goût = défini · consommation = partitif.
🔊 Example sentences
💡 Your B1 goal
At B1 the pattern should work in conversation at normal speed, including the common exceptions. Push yourself to use it while talking, not just in exercises.
Feeling shaky? Step back to Articles Definis Indefinis at A2. Comfortable? Level up to Articles Definis Indefinis at B2.
✍️ Practice
J’adore ___ chocolat. (in general) (taste verb)
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le
Je mange ___ pain. (some) (partitive)
Show answer
du
Trop ___ sucre ! (quantity) (bare de)
Show answer
de
🎮 Practise
🧩 Sentence builder rebuild the negation