Cette boîte contient du miel que le boulanger vend au marché.

This box contains honey that the baker sells at the market.

Breakdown of Cette boîte contient du miel que le boulanger vend au marché.

• du: some
• le marché: the market
• à: at
• cette: this

Questions & Answers about Cette boîte contient du miel que le boulanger vend au marché.

What does du in du miel represent, and why not de miel or le miel?

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?