French language Q&A Forum

For example if you were to say 'I like carrots', can't you say j'aime des carottes as well as j'aime les carottes ?

Or do they mean different things?

As they basically mean the same thing in this context.

In the sentence, encountered in a novel:

Il ouvrait un petit bar, y prenait une bouteille et deux verres.

Why "y"?  This seems to be a perfect example of "de plus location", as he is taking the bottle from a place.

Can someone elucidate, please"

Much obliged!

I have just run across this sentence in my reading, and I don't understand how/why the adverbial pronoun is used:

The introductory sentence is part of a conversation: 

-Vous ignorez qu'il est le propriétaire des parfums et des produits de beauté Mylène?

This is followed by the following sentence, which is the author's omnipotent observation about how little Maigret knew about perfumes:  

Il s'y connaissait si peu en produits de beauté! 

I understand what is being communicated, but I don't understand the grammar!

Please explain why the "s'y" construction is in this sentence.  

Merci!

Although this was an exercise about using "devoir", I didn't understand how it expressed "to be late," which was son train a eu du retard Shouldn't it be "de retard" not "du retard?"

In the video there is no definite article in front of Israel. Why? Are there other countries that do not have a definite article beforehand?