Vous faites un gâteau avec du chocolat.

Questions & Answers about Vous faites un gâteau avec du chocolat.

Why do we say "du chocolat" instead of just "le chocolat"?
Because chocolate is an uncountable ingredient here. In English, we say "some chocolate" or just "chocolate." French requires a partitive article for uncountable amounts. Since chocolat is a masculine word, you use du (which is a blend of de and le).
Why does "gâteau" get "un" but "chocolat" gets "du"?
It comes down to what you can count. Un gâteau is a single, countable object (a whole cake), so it uses the indefinite article un (a). Chocolat is an ingredient being used in a mass amount, so it uses the partitive article du (some).
If I were making the cake with flour (farine, feminine), would it still be "du"?
No, because farine is feminine. The partitive article changes based on gender. For a feminine uncountable noun, you use de la, so it would be avec de la farine (with some flour).
I thought the vous form of verbs usually ended in "-ez". Why is it faites?
The verb faire (to do / to make) is irregular. Vous faites is an exception to the usual -ez rule. It is one of the very few verbs in French that end in -tes with vous (another common one you know is vous êtes).

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