Je cuisine des pâtes avec des tomates.

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Breakdown of Je cuisine des pâtes avec des tomates.

• avec: with
• des: some
• cuisiner: to cook

Questions & Answers about Je cuisine des pâtes avec des tomates.

Why is “pâtes” plural when “pasta” is singular in English?

In French, les pâtes is a plural noun meaning “pasta” (the food). The singular la pâte means “dough” or “paste,” not pasta. So you normally talk about pasta in the plural: des pâtes, les pâtes.

What does “des” mean here?

Here des is the plural indefinite article, roughly “some” in English. So des pâtes = “some pasta,” des tomates = “some tomatoes.”

Is this “des” the same as the contraction of “de + les”?

Not here. Des can be:

• the plural indefinite article (“some”): des pâtes, des tomates (that’s our sentence), or
• the contraction of de + les (“of the”): le goût des tomates = “the taste of the tomatoes.”

You tell which it is from context and structure. After a verb as a direct object, it’s the indefinite article; after a noun showing possession/origin, it may be “de + les.”

Why not “avec de tomates”?