je bois du café
The French phrase for "I drink coffee" is je bois du café.
This phrase is a statement used to express that you consume coffee, either as a general habit or as an action occurring in the present moment.
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between using the partitive article and the definite article. Using je bois du café means "I drink (some) coffee," whereas je bois le café means "I drink the (specific) coffee."
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the present tense, which in French can express both a current action and a habitual action. The word du is a partitive article used here to indicate an unspecified quantity of an uncountable noun. Note that in a negative sentence, such as "I don't drink coffee," the partitive article du changes to de (or d before a vowel), resulting in je ne bois pas de café.
Did you know?
- While je bois du café is grammatically correct, a French speaker ordering in a cafe would more likely say je prends un café, using the verb 'to take'.
- French coffee culture historically centered around the 'café' as a social institution, making the act of drinking coffee a public, political activity in the 18th century.
- The word bois is a homonym that can also mean 'wood' or 'forest' in a different context, despite sounding identical.
Examples in context
- Je bois du café tous les matins.I drink coffee every morning.This sentence is useful for describing a daily routine with je bois du café.Tatoeba #6820103 by Rockaround, translation #6352530 by CK
- Je bois du café.I drink coffee.This sentence shows the simple statement je bois du café.Tatoeba #1077505 by jeo, translation #1000136 by Nihonkage
- Je bois du café sans ajouter de lait.I drink coffee without adding milk.This sentence shows how to specify preferences while using je bois du café.Tatoeba #13824416 by mervert1, translation #10903745 by CK
- À chaque repas, je prends un café.At every meal, I have a coffee
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a small cafe in Paris.
- HugoJe bois du café, et toi ?I am drinking coffee, and you?
- ManonJe bois du thé glacé.I am drinking iced tea.
- HugoC'est bon, le café de ce café ?Is the coffee from this cafe good?
- ManonOui, il est excellent !Yes, it is excellent!
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
