Question 1

The lesson is about using du or de la for food. Why is it un yaourt here instead of du yaourt?

Accepted Answer

We use partitive articles (du, de la) for uncountable foods, like du pain (some bread) or de la confiture (some jam). But yogurts usually come in individual, countable pots. Just like in English, you can say un yaourt (a yogurt) when you mean one single serving. If you were talking about a large, uncountable amount of yogurt, you would use du yaourt.

Question 2

The English translation says "I have", but doesn't the verb prendre mean "to take"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, prendre literally means "to take." However, in French, you don't usually use the verb avoir (to have) when talking about consuming food or a meal. Instead of saying "I have a yogurt," a French speaker says Je prends un yaourt (I take a yogurt).

Question 3

Why is it au petit-déjeuner? Doesn't the English translation use "for"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say we eat something "for" breakfast. In French, the standard way to express this is with the preposition à (at/to) rather than pour (for). Because breakfast is masculine (le petit-déjeuner), the words à and le automatically combine into au. You are literally saying "at the breakfast."

Question 4

Does petit-déjeuner literally mean "little lunch"?

Accepted Answer

Exactly! Le déjeuner is the word for "lunch," so le petit-déjeuner is the "little lunch" you eat in the morning to start your day.

Je prends un yaourt au petit-déjeuner.

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