Why French says j’aime le café: articles after aimer
Use le, la, l’ and les for general likes, compare liking food with taking some, and practise with eight food picture cards.
In short
For a general liking, use le, la, l’ or les after aimer: J’aime le café. English says “I like coffee”; French keeps the article. For an amount you drink, say Je bois du café.
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Why does French say j’aime le café but je prends du café?
Tu aimes le fromage ?Do you like cheese?
Focus: a general preference
Oui, j’aime le fromage.
Yes, I like cheese.
Tu veux du fromage ?Would you like some cheese?
Focus: an amount offered now
Oui, je veux bien du fromage.
Yes, I’d like some cheese.
Both questions can come up at the same meal. The first asks about your tastes. The second offers you something. A food word can therefore take a different article depending on what you want to say.
Eight foods and drinks: learn, test yourself, find the picture
Find:
| Article | Example | Choose it for |
|---|---|---|
| le | J’aime le fromage. | a masculine singular noun |
| la | J’aime la soupe. | a feminine singular noun |
| l’ | J’aime l’eau. | a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound |
| les | J’aime les fraises. | a plural noun |
Do you keep the article after je n’aime pas?
Je n’aime pas le café, mais j’adore le thé.
I don’t like coffee, but I love tea.
The negative keeps the definite article: Je n’aime pas les fraises. Compare Je ne mange pas de fraises — “I’m not eating any strawberries”. That sentence is about eating an amount.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J’adore la soupe. | I love soup. |
| Je déteste le café froid. | I hate cold coffee. |
| Je préfère les pommes. | I prefer apples. |
How do you say you like doing something in French?
J’aime cuisiner. Elle préfère manger au restaurant.
I like cooking. She prefers eating at a restaurant.
Put the infinitive directly after the preference verb: J’aime cuisiner, j’adore lire, je déteste attendre. For a particular thing, a pointing word or possessive also works: J’aime cette soupe (“I like this soup”), j’aime ta salade (“I like your salad”).