"I like to drink wine."

Translation: J'aime boire du vin.

[aaronfallon]

One thing that confuses me a bit, is if it said J'aime le fromage that would be correct, right? Because the other example showed nous aimons le fromage as the correct sentence, but with wine, it's du vin. Is there something I'm missing?

[Sitesurf]

j'aime le vin, j'aime le fromage: appreciation verb -> generality -> object with definite article le, la, les

j'aime boire du vin, j'aime manger du fromage: drink some/eat some uncountable thing -> partitive -> object of boire and manger = du, de la, de l'

[LaurenNoi]

This is by far the part of French I am struggling with the most.

[michael.sandell]

So, how would one say "i like drinking wine" vs "i like to drink wine"?

Also doesn't "j'aime le vin" indicate "I like this specific wine?" I.e. I like this wine? Instead of I like wine in general?

[Sitesurf]

I like drinking/to drink wine:The answer is above.

j'aime le vin is specific or general

• j'aime le fin de ta cave = I like the wine from your cellar
• j'aime le fin en général = I like wine in general

[belgrinfanm]

I love your explanations. They're always so crisp :-)

[aprilstern]

This is my question also. I'm confused as to why it would be J'aime LE fromage, but J'aime boire DU vin....

[Sitesurf]

j'aime le vin: vin is direct object of aime, appreciation verb = definite article required

j'aime boire du vin: vin is direct object of boire, the meaning is "some wine", so partitive article "du" is required.

[EscargotGirl]

Thank you.You cleared this up.

[HenryNinso]

I don't even know why the same method can't be used with this answer

[Restermen]

Why isn't it "J'aime bois du vin." I thought bois was I am drinking?

[Sitesurf]

I like to drink (infinitive) = j'aime boire (infinitive)

[Krishankanha0]

i did't understand.

[frau.mischa]

It doesn't say "I am drinking wine." . It says "I like to drink wine." . "boire" is the exact meaning of "to drink". They are both infinitive, they don't refer to a verb tense in this case. "Je bois du vin." means "I am drinking wine.", "J'aime boire du vin." means "I like to drink wine." :)

[Qareltje]

But "I like wine" is "J'aime le vin" then right?

[Sitesurf]

Yes, because of appreciation verb "aimer" (generality).

[KimThanh]

Can i write : j'aime boire le vin"?

[Sitesurf]

Maybe with this:

• j'aime boire le vin quand il est frais
• j'aime boire le vin que tu as acheté

In other words, to move from the partitive/general "du" to "le" you need that this wine is specified (definite -> definite article).

[imagine2]

I am having trouble keeping straight when to use le/la as opposed to du. Any suggestions?

[puppy7989]

Check out the following sites. They are from a French language site - I find a lot of her information is very clearly set out and easy to understand

http://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-definite-article

http://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/blog/french-indefinite-and-partitive-articles

[Harry_Log]

when will it be j'aime a boire du vin

[Sitesurf]

"J'aime à boire du vin" is a bit old fashioned but correct.

[3treehouses]

I put this and it was incorrect. Is there any situation where you would use "j'aime à (verb)"?

[Sitesurf]

Yes, in a limited literary context.

Otherwise, "aimer" is one of those verbs which are constructed with an infinitive.

this is the list of verbs which can be constructed without any proposition: aimer/aimer mieux, aller, compter, croire, daigner, devoir, entendre, espérer, faire, falloir, (s')imaginer, laisser, oser, penser, pouvoir, prétendre, savoir, sembler, sentir, valoir mieux, venir, voir and vouloir.

[IchibanGaijin]

Why isn't it just "J'aime boire vin"?

[Sitesurf]

Because articles are needed as a general rule.

j'aime boire du vin means I like to drink (some) wine, as an undefined quantity of an uncountable thing.

partitive articles are made of preposition "de" + definite articles:

masculine: boire du vin (contraction of de+le)

feminine: boire de la bière

[fyggs]

Du is a contraction of de le?

[Sitesurf]

yes it is.

[Lecygne04]

I wish each lesson had a spelled out explanation of rules like this prior to the exercises...

[DeztinyWal]

Why do they say pick all translations that are right when only one is (not like i picked all of them,just a question)

[puppy7989]

Hi - This is because sometimes you might be given a phrase to which there is more than one possible answer. eg -

They are eating = Ils mangent and Elles mangent (in english you can't tell)

Sa chemise = his shirt OR her shirt so also Elle porte sa chemise = She is wearing his/her shirt (might be her boyfriend's shirt or her own, in french you can't tell)

Also with tenses Je mange = I eat and I am eating

There are lots of others so keep your eyes peeled :)

Duo doesn't always have more than one correct answer as part of the multi-choice even if there could be... Just trying to keep us on our toes - so dance lightly.... :)

[JackYakov]

ha, "J'aime boire le vin. " is wrong, because you can't drink all the wine, you only can drink some wine in your whole life!

[Vlugenhagen]

if i say " j'aime boire du vin " in a restaurant, would it be implied as "i want some wine?" , or is this more liking wine in general?

[Sitesurf]

No, it would not be implied that you are actually ordering any.

"j'aimerais boire du vin" = "I would like to drink wine" is another story: the waiter should then propose "blanc ou rouge ?" "voulez-vous voir la carte des vins ?"...

[dtturman]

Which is the conjugation, "bois" or "boire" ?

[Sitesurf]

the infinitive is "voire" (to drink)

conjugation in indicative present: je bois, tu bois, il/elle/on boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils/elles boivent.

[DemonDorito]

lets spread joy by giving kids wine >:D

[Cordelia394615]

I dont under stand why when i see what they mean they say the wrong answer