Grammar lessons

Liking and eating need different articles in French. - After verbs of taste and opinion such as aimer, adorer, préférer and détester, you talk about a thing in general, so use the definite article le, la, les: J'adore le chocolat (I love chocolate). - After verbs of eating, drinking and buying such as manger, boire, prendre and acheter, you mean an unspecified amount, so use the partitive du, de la, des: Je mange du pain (I eat bread). - In the negative, the partitive becomes de: Je ne bois pas de café. The definite article does not change: Je n'aime pas le poisson (I don't like fish). English says I like fish and I eat fish with no article at all, which is why this mistake is so common.