Learn Hardcore French: Au dessert, ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre. - For dessert, they eat strawberries with a bit of sugar.

Pour le dessert, ils mangent… – also correct; sounds slightly more formal or structured.
En dessert, ils mangent… – also heard; often used in menus or when listing courses.

In everyday speech, Au dessert and En dessert are both common. The given sentence chooses Au dessert, which is perfectly natural French.

What exactly does au mean in Au dessert?

Au is a contraction:

au = à + le

So literally, Au dessert = À le dessert → “at the dessert / for the dessert”.

We use au because:

dessert is a masculine singular noun (le dessert),
and à + le must contract to au in standard French.

You cannot say à le dessert; it must be au dessert.

Why is there an article in French (Au dessert) when English just says “For dessert” with no “the”?

French uses definite and indefinite articles more often than English.

English: for Ø dessert
French: pour le dessert / au dessert

In French, most singular countable nouns need an article:

le dessert – the dessert
un dessert – a dessert

So where English might drop the article after certain prepositions (for school, at work, in prison), French normally keeps it:

à l’école – at school
au travail – at work
au dessert – for dessert

Dropping the article here (“pour dessert”, “à dessert”) is not correct in French.

Is dessert masculine or feminine in French, and how can I tell?

In this sentence, we know dessert is masculine because:

It takes le (in au = à + le, not à la).
The normal dictionary form is le dessert.

Unfortunately, you usually have to memorize the gender of each noun. Some endings give hints, but -ert is not a reliable gender marker on its own. So treat dessert as:

le dessert (masculine singular)

Why is it ils and not elles? How do I choose between them?

Both ils and elles mean “they”, but:

ils: used for an all-male group or a mixed group (male + female).
elles: used only for an all-female group.

So:

If the group is all women: Elles mangent des fraises.
If the group is all men or mixed, or if you don’t know the gender: Ils mangent des fraises.

In many generic examples, French defaults to ils because it can include any gender mix.

What tense and form is mangent, and how is it pronounced?

Mangent is:

Verb: manger (to eat)
Tense: present tense
Person: 3rd person plural (ils/elles) → ils mangent / elles mangent

Conjugation of manger in the present:

je mange
tu manges
il/elle/on mange
nous mangeons
vous mangez
ils/elles mangent

Pronunciation:

mangent is pronounced [mɑ̃ʒ], the same as mange (il/elle/on mange).
The -ent ending of ils mangent is silent in the present tense.

So ils mangent sounds like “il manʒ”, not “mangent” with a pronounced “t” or “ent”.

Why is it des fraises and not les fraises?

Des fraises means “(some) strawberries” in a general, non-specific way.

des = plural of un/une → some or just plural with no article in English.
des fraises = some strawberries / strawberries.

Use des when you’re talking about some quantity of non-specific items:

Ils mangent des fraises. – They eat (some) strawberries.

Les fraises = “the strawberries”, referring to specific strawberries that are known in the context:

Ils mangent les fraises que tu as achetées. – They are eating the strawberries that you bought.

In the original sentence, nothing makes the strawberries specific, so des fraises is the natural choice.

Why des and not du in des fraises?

Des and du both can translate as “some”, but they’re used differently:

des = plural, for countable nouns:
- des fraises – (some) strawberries (you can count them)
- des pommes – (some) apples
du = de + le, masculine singular, mass or uncountable noun:
- du pain – (some) bread
- du fromage – (some) cheese

Since fraises are plural, countable items, you use des, not du:

✅ des fraises
❌ du fraises (wrong: plural with a singular article)

Why is it un peu de sucre and not un peu du sucre?

After expressions of quantity, French normally uses de (or d’), not du / de la / des:

un peu de sucre – a little sugar
beaucoup de sucre – a lot of sugar
trop de sucre – too much sugar
une tasse de sucre – a cup of sugar

So the pattern is:

[quantity expression] + de + noun

That’s why:

✅ un peu de sucre
❌ un peu du sucre

You would only use du sucre on its own when you mean “some sugar” without a previous quantity word:

Ils mangent des fraises avec du sucre. – They eat strawberries with (some) sugar.

Why is sucre singular and without an article (apart from de)?

Sucre (“sugar”) is treated as a mass noun (uncountable) in this context:

You’re not counting individual units; you’re talking about some amount of sugar.

The phrase un peu de already expresses a specific quantity structure:

un peu de + [mass noun]

So:

un peu de sucre – a little sugar
un peu d’huile – a little oil
un peu d’eau – a little water

You don’t add an extra article between de and sucre; de directly introduces the noun.

Can I move Au dessert to the end and say Ils mangent des fraises au dessert? Is that still correct?

Yes, it’s correct, and it’s very natural.

Both of these are fine:

Au dessert, ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre.
Ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre au dessert.

Differences:

Putting Au dessert at the beginning slightly emphasizes the time / course (“as for dessert…”).
Putting it at the end sounds more neutral and is very common in speech.

French time or situation phrases can usually be placed:

at the beginning: Au dessert, ils mangent…
or at the end: Ils mangent… au dessert.

Are there other natural ways to express this idea in French?

Yes, several variations are possible without changing the basic meaning much. For example:

En dessert, ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre.
Pour le dessert, ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre.
En dessert, ils prennent des fraises avec un peu de sucre.
- prendre is often used for ordering or having food/drinks:
  Je prends un café. – I’ll have a coffee.

All of these are idiomatic; the original Au dessert, ils mangent des fraises avec un peu de sucre. is just one natural version among several.