miketuan

[wraith geode]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[strong spear]

The singular implies that she only likes ONE trip; the plural implies ALL of them as in she likes to go on trips a lot

[granite sequoia]

Then why not "Nadjia aime beaucoup des voyages"? (This sentence is cited from a small passage talking about a woman's birthday, what her friends were gonna offer her on her birthday, and "trips" was not mentioned previously)

[strong spear]

For verbs that describe general concepts like « aimer, adorer, détester, préférer », the definite article is used for the concept

https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/french-definite-article/#5-the-french-definite-article-is-used-after-certain-verbs
Number 4 and 5

[radiant breach]

Oh i see

So some words you have to make plural to talk about their general concept. « J'aime le voyage » would be referring to a specific voyage, « J'aime les voyages » would mean you like voyages in general. Now as a follow up question (sorry to take up your space miketuan), am i correct in thinking that, with the construction « J'aime X » and when talking about aimer the general concept of something, X has to be in plural of it is countable ?

For example, « J'aime le lait » doesn't have to be plural because le lait is uncoutable, it's already apparent that you're not talking about a 'specific lait'.

Although, the example given in the site « J’aime le théâtre mais je préfère le cinéma. » would refute that

Or at least make it more nuanced

[strong spear]

RIght, if the noun is countable, you have to put it in the plural. The idea being that you're just converting from partitive to definite while keeping its number

Je veux du lait -> J'aime le lait
Je veux des voyages -> J'aime les voyages

[radiant breach]

Ohh!

Thank you for the example

That terminology went straight over my head

[strong spear]

A bit of nuance here but « cinéma » can be both a place and a dramatic art.

If it's a place, it's countable: un cinéma, des cinémas
If it's the dramatic art, it's uncountable: du cinéma

[radiant breach]

Ohh so French people will hear the sentence and understand it in its general sense

[strong spear]

Case in point:

Where « théâtre » means a live-performance (leading to 'honest/authentic') whereas « cinéma » means a filmed performance (leading to 'dishonest/playing')

[radiant breach]

I see

[granite sequoia]

This helps

worth reading

[radiant breach]

Hoe would go about saying you like a specific theatre? Just « J'aime ce théâtre » ? And if it was already mentioned ?
For example in English:
"Are we going to that city again? It's got a lot of cool places"
"Yeah, I especially love the theatre (there)"

Ah i reckon it's just apparent from context

[strong spear]

Nouns are generally either countable or uncountable but some can be both. An example would be things that have subdivisions due to internal differences.
« du vin, du poisson » describes an uncountable quantity of wine and fish; it doesn't matter what kind, just that there's some wine and some fish.
« des vins, des poissons » describes a countable quantity of wine and fish in respect to their subtypes; we not only have a bunch of wine and fish but different kinds of wine and fish like we got Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Bordeaux for the wines, mackerel, tuna, bass, anchovy for the fishes

[strong spear]

That can totally work

[radiant breach]

I see it's like the distinction in English between "there's fish in the ocean" and "there's different species of fish / different fishes in this lake"

[strong spear]

— On va aller à cette ville encore ? Il y a beaucoup de lieux intéressants.
— Oui, j'aime surtout le théâtre au centre.

[strong spear]

You got it bang on the money

[radiant breach]

I see, thank you very much, excellent replies

[granite sequoia]

what do you mean by honest/authentic vs dishonest/playing?

[strong spear]

faire au cinéma has a secondary meaning like you're pretending doing something