Paul aime la guitare.

Paul likes the guitar.

Breakdown of Paul aime la guitare.

• Paul: Paul
• aimer: to like
• la guitare: the guitar

Questions & Answers about Paul aime la guitare.

Why is it la guitare and not just guitare, since in English we say “Paul likes guitar” (no the)?

In French, you normally need an article before a noun; you can’t leave it “bare” the way English often does.

When you talk about likes and dislikes in general (things you like as a category), French uses the definite article (le, la, les):

• Paul aime la guitare. = Paul likes the guitar (as an instrument / guitars in general).
• J’aime le café. = I like coffee (coffee in general).
• Nous aimons les chiens. = We like dogs (dogs in general).

So la guitare here doesn’t mean “this specific guitar”; it means “the guitar” as a type of instrument. Leaving out the article (✗ Paul aime guitare) is ungrammatical in standard French.

What exactly is the difference between Paul aime la guitare and Paul aime jouer de la guitare?

Both sentences are natural, but they focus on slightly different things:

• Paul aime la guitare.
  Emphasis: he likes the instrument / its sound / the idea of it.
  It can imply he enjoys it as music, maybe listening to it, maybe playing it, but it doesn’t say how he likes it.

• Paul aime jouer de la guitare.
  Emphasis: he likes playing the guitar. This clearly tells you that it’s the activity of playing that he enjoys.

In context, both might often be translated simply as “Paul likes the guitar” or “Paul likes playing guitar”, but in French the second is explicitly about the activity.

Why is the verb aime and not aimes or aiment?

Because Paul is third person singular (he), and aimer must be conjugated to match:

• j’aime (I like)
• tu aimes (you like – singular informal)
• il / elle / on aime (he / she / one likes)
• nous aimons (we like)
• vous aimez (you like – plural or formal)
• ils / elles aiment (they like)

Paul = il → third person singular → aime.

So:

• Paul aime la guitare.
• Il aime la guitare.

Both use aime, not aimes or aiment.

Does aimer mean to like or to love?

Aimer can mean both, depending on context and object:

• With people:

  • J’aime Paul. → usually “I love Paul.”
  • To say “I like Paul” (less strong), French often uses bien:
    • J’aime bien Paul. = I like Paul.

• With things / activities:

  • J’aime la guitare. = I like the guitar.
  • J’adore la guitare. = I love the guitar (stronger).

So in Paul aime la guitare, the natural translation is “Paul likes the guitar”, not “Paul loves the guitar”, unless context really pushes toward a very strong passion.

Is guitare always feminine? Why is it la guitare and not le guitare?

Yes, guitare is feminine, so it always takes la in the singular:

• la guitare (the guitar)
• une guitare (a guitar)
• ma guitare (my guitar – feminine)

Unfortunately, grammatical gender in French is mostly arbitrary; you generally have to learn the gender with the noun:

• le piano (masculine)
• la guitare (feminine)
• la batterie (drum kit – feminine)
• le violon (masculine)

So memorize la guitare as a fixed chunk.

Can you ever say Paul aime guitare without the article?

No. In standard French, that is incorrect.

French almost always needs an article or determiner before a common noun:

• Paul aime la guitare. ✅
• Paul aime sa guitare. ✅ (Paul likes his guitar.)
• Paul aime cette guitare. ✅ (Paul likes this guitar.)
• Paul aime guitare. ❌ (ungrammatical)

This is different from English, which often allows bare nouns: “Paul likes guitar”, “I drink coffee”, etc. French doesn’t.

How would you say “Paul doesn’t like the guitar” in French, and does the article change?

The negative is:

• Paul n’aime pas la guitare.

Structure of the negation:

• ne / n’
  • aime
    • pas

Importantly, the definite article stays the same in negation:

• Paul aime la guitare.
• Paul n’aime pas la guitare.

Only indefinite and partitive articles usually change to de in negation:

• J’ai une guitare. → Je n’ai pas de guitare.
• Je bois du café. → Je ne bois pas de café.

But:

• J’aime la guitare. → Je n’aime pas la guitare. (no change to la)

Could we say Paul aime les guitares instead? What would that mean?

Yes, you can say:

• Paul aime les guitares.

But the nuance is a bit different:

• Paul aime la guitare.
  He likes the guitar as an instrument / in general.

• Paul aime les guitares.
  He likes guitars as objects: maybe he likes looking at them, collecting them, different models, etc.

In many contexts the difference is subtle, but la guitare points more to the instrument as a concept, while les guitares points to actual guitars in the plural.

Can we replace Paul with a pronoun? How would the sentence change?

Yes. Since Paul is a man, you use il:

• Il aime la guitare. = He likes the guitar.

Grammatically:

• Paul (proper noun, subject) → il (subject pronoun).
• The verb stays the same: aime.

You would normally use Paul when introducing him, or when you want to be specific; after that, you can switch to il in continuing sentences:

• Paul aime la guitare. Il aime aussi le piano.
  Paul likes the guitar. He also likes the piano.

What is the basic word order in Paul aime la guitare? Is it the same as in English?

Yes, here the word order is the same as in English:

• Subject – Verb – Object

French: Paul (S) aime (V) la guitare (O).
English: Paul (S) likes (V) the guitar (O).

For simple affirmative statements in the present tense, French usually uses this same S–V–O order.

How do you pronounce Paul aime la guitare?

Approximate English-friendly guide (not exact, but close):

• Paul → roughly like “pohl” (single, clear o as in “pole”, but shorter; final l is pronounced).
• aime → like “em” (short e, similar to “them” without the th).
• la → “la” (like “la” in “la-la-la”).
• guitare → roughly “gee-tar”, but:
  • gui = gi in “geese” (hard g + ee)
  • final e is a little schwa or almost silent: gee-tar(uh).

So very roughly: “Pohl em la gee-tar(uh)”.

No liaison is required here; each word is pronounced on its own.

How would you turn Paul aime la guitare into a question like “Does Paul like the guitar?” in French?

You have a few natural options:

1. Est-ce que question (very common, neutral):

   • Est-ce que Paul aime la guitare ?
     = Does Paul like the guitar?

2. Intonation question (informal speech):

   • Paul aime la guitare ?
     (Say it with rising intonation.)

3. Inversion (more formal or written):

   • Paul aime-t-il la guitare ?

All three are correct; Est-ce que Paul aime la guitare ? is usually the safest choice for learners.