Learn Hardcore French: Paul prépare du riz au lait pour le dessert.

prépare is the present tense, 3rd person singular of préparer (il/elle/on prépare). To conjugate: drop -er (the infinitive ending) and add -e for je, il, elle, or on. Here il prépare means “he is preparing” or “he prepares.”

What does the partitive article du mean in du riz, and why not use le riz or des riz?

du is a partitive article (from de + le) indicating an unspecified quantity of a mass noun. Rice is uncountable, so you can’t say des riz (“some rices”). le riz would refer to rice in general or a specific rice, not “some rice” that Paul is preparing. Hence du riz means “some rice.”

What exactly is riz au lait, and how is it structured?

riz au lait literally means “rice in/with milk.” It’s a classic French dessert, equivalent to rice pudding. Grammatically, it’s a noun (riz) followed by a prepositional phrase au lait (contraction of à + le lait, “with the milk”).

Why is it au lait instead of saying à le lait in full?

In French, à + le always contracts to au before a masculine singular noun. So à le lait becomes au lait (“with the milk”). This contraction is mandatory in standard French.

Why does the sentence use pour le dessert rather than simply pour dessert like in English?

French typically requires the definite article before a meal course. pour le dessert literally means “for the dessert” (i.e. the dessert course). Omitting the article (pour dessert) is ungrammatical.

Could you use comme dessert instead of pour le dessert, and is there a nuance?

Yes. comme dessert (“as a dessert”) is also correct. pour le dessert emphasizes the purpose (“for dessert”), while comme dessert highlights the role of the dish in the meal. In everyday speech they’re often interchangeable.

How do you negate this sentence to say “Paul is not preparing rice pudding for dessert”?

Place ne before the verb and pas after, and change the partitive du to de:
Paul ne prépare pas de riz au lait pour le dessert.
In negative contexts, partitive and indefinite articles become de (or d’ before a vowel).

How can you replace du riz au lait with a pronoun to avoid repetition?

Use the pronoun en to replace nouns introduced by a partitive:
Paul en prépare pour le dessert.
Here en stands for du riz au lait (“some rice pudding”).

What’s the difference between un dessert and le dessert in this context?

un dessert means “a dessert” (indefinite – any dessert), whereas le dessert refers to the dessert course of the meal (definite). In pour le dessert, le pins it down as the standard final course rather than just any sweet dish.