Je râpe du fromage pendant que Paul chauffe la soupe.

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Breakdown of Je râpe du fromage pendant que Paul chauffe la soupe.

• Paul: Paul
• le fromage: the cheese
• du: some

Questions & Answers about Je râpe du fromage pendant que Paul chauffe la soupe.

Why is it du fromage and not just fromage?

In French, you usually need an article before a noun. Here, du fromage is the partitive article, which often means some cheese or cheese in an unspecified amount.

So:

• Je râpe du fromage = I’m grating some cheese / cheese

English often drops some, but French usually does not.

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Is du here literally of the?

Not really, even though du is historically the same form as de + le.

In this sentence, du is functioning as a partitive article, so it does not mean of the word-for-word. It’s better to understand du fromage as some cheese.

So avoid translating it too literally.

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Why is it la soupe instead of de la soupe?