Learn Hardcore French: Cette boîte contient du miel que le boulanger vend au marché. - This box contains honey that the baker sells at the market.

Du is the French partitive article (a contraction of de + le) used before a masculine singular noun to express “some” or “any.” It indicates an unspecified quantity of honey.

In a negative sentence, it becomes de: Je n’ai pas de miel.
Le miel (definite article) would mean “the honey” in general or a specific batch already known.
Un miel would be “a honey,” which sounds odd because honey is uncountable in French.

Why is que used to introduce the relative clause le boulanger vend au marché, instead of qui?

Que is the relative pronoun for the direct object of the subordinate verb. Here, miel is what is being sold, so it’s the direct object of vend.

Que replaces miel in the subordinate clause.
You would use qui only if the relative pronoun were the subject of that clause (e.g., le boulanger qui vend du miel).

Why is there no preposition before contient to show that the box holds honey? Shouldn’t it be contient dans?

Contenir is a transitive verb that directly takes its object. You simply say La boîte contient du miel. There’s no need for dans, because contenir already implies “to hold/contain inside.”

If you want to express location instead, you’d use il y a
- dans: Il y a du miel dans la boîte.

Why is au marché used? What does au stand for?

Au is the contraction of à + le. Since marché is a masculine singular noun, à le marché becomes au marché, meaning “at the market.”

If the noun were feminine, you’d use à la.
If it were plural, you’d use aux.

Why is cette used before boîte instead of ce?

Cette is the feminine singular demonstrative adjective (“this/that”) used before feminine nouns.

Boîte is feminine, so we choose cette.
Ce is for masculine singular nouns (and cet if the masculine noun begins with a vowel), ces for all plurals.

Why don’t we use dont instead of que in the relative clause?

Dont replaces a noun that’s linked to the verb by de. For example, le miel *dont je t’ai parlé (“the honey I told you about”). But *vendre is used transitively without de when taking a direct object. Therefore, you need que, not dont.

Can we move the relative clause que le boulanger vend au marché to follow cette boîte instead of du miel?

No. The relative pronoun must immediately follow the noun it refers to. Placing the clause after boîte would suggest “the box that the baker sells at the market,” changing the meaning entirely. Here, the clause modifies miel, so it must come right after miel.

Could we say Cette boîte contient le miel que le boulanger vend au marché? How would that change the meaning?

Yes. Using le miel (definite article) instead of du miel makes it “the honey”—referring to a specific, known batch of honey that the baker sells at the market. With du miel, you’re talking about some unspecified honey in the box.