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Des acheteurs prennent la marchandise du chariot.

Des acheteurs prennent la marchandise du chariot.
Some shoppers take the merchandise from the shopping cart.
From Lesson 218:Intensity with nouns (tellement de... que)·French

Questions & Answers about Des acheteurs prennent la marchandise du chariot.

Why does the sentence use du chariot to mean "from the shopping cart"?
The verb prendre (to take) uses the preposition de to indicate taking something from a place. Because chariot is a masculine noun, you need to say de + le (from the). In French, de and le always contract to form du.
Why is there a double "n" in prennent?
Prendre (to take) is a highly irregular verb. In the present tense for ils/elles (they), the "n" doubles to become prennent. This also changes the pronunciation: the vowel sounds like the "e" in the English word "pen", losing the nasal sound you hear in il prend or nous prenons.
Why does the sentence start with Des acheteurs instead of Les acheteurs?
Des is the plural indefinite article, acting as the plural of un or une. It translates to "some shoppers" (an unspecified group). If the sentence used Les acheteurs, it would mean "the shoppers" (specific people already mentioned) or "shoppers" in a general, universal sense.
Does marchandise always mean "merchandise"? Can it be plural?
Yes, la marchandise usually translates to "the merchandise" or "the goods". While it is often used as a singular collective noun (like in this sentence), it is also very common to see it in the plural form (les marchandises) to refer to goods or wares.

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