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Je bois du café chaud avec Marie.

Je bois du café chaud avec Marie.
I drink hot coffee with Marie.
FromLesson 7inHardcore French

Breakdown of Je bois du café chaud avec Marie.

je
I
Marie
Marie
avec
with
boire
to drink
du
some
chaud
hot
le café
the coffee

Questions & Answers about Je bois du café chaud avec Marie.

What does the partitive article du mean in this sentence, and why is it used instead of the definite article le?
Du is used as a partitive article in French, which indicates an unspecified quantity of a mass noun. In this sentence, it shows that you are drinking some coffee rather than referring to a specific, complete serving. Using le would imply a particular, identifiable cup or batch of coffee.
What is the meaning of bois in this context, and how is the verb conjugated?
Bois is the first person singular present tense form of the verb boire, which means “to drink.” So Je bois translates to “I drink” or “I am drinking,” indicating the action performed by the speaker.
Why does the adjective chaud follow the noun café instead of preceding it?
In French, many adjectives—especially those describing temperature, shape, or other inherent qualities—typically come after the noun. Therefore, café chaud is the natural word order in French to mean “hot coffee.” Some adjectives can come before the noun based on stylistic or idiomatic rules, but in this case, post-nominal placement is standard.
What role does the phrase avec Marie play in the sentence?
The phrase avec Marie is a prepositional phrase that means “with Marie.” It specifies the person accompanying the speaker during the action. In other words, it tells you that the coffee is being drunk together with Marie.
Could I use the definite article le instead of du in this sentence? What would change?
No, substituting le for du would change the meaning. Le would imply that you are referring to a specific, known cup or serving of hot coffee (“the hot coffee”), whereas du indicates an unspecified amount (“some hot coffee”). When talking about portions of a substance like coffee, the partitive article du is appropriate.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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