Is 'feu d'artifice' singular or plural?

Question

Why is it 'je regarde le feu d'artifice" (i.e. singular) but, later on in the text, "Nous avons...des feux d'artifice'. "Feux" is the plural form of feu. Is it singular or plural?

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Charles,
Both instances are a stylistic choice.
The first one includes a hint specifically asking for the singular form. Otherwise, you could have both.
For the second instance, the person is saying "Us too, we have (some) concerts, (some) flags and (some) fireworks". The difference is the use of "some" which implies the plural. In French, to express that, you will use "des" (the plural form of the indefinite articles un/une as "feu" is countable).
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Céline Pickard · Answer

Bonjour Willima,
You're right that when you watch fireworks, you are obviously seeing many individual fireworks. But in French, the event is treated as a countable event. So, if you are standing outside watching a firework display, you are watching one event and you will use the singular: le feu d'artifice.
That's also what makes it different from the soup, coffee or birds examples. Those come down to countable vs. uncountable:
du café / de la soupe -> partitive articles because they are uncountable
des oiseaux -> definite article because they are countable
le feu d'artifice -> definite article because it is a countable event
So, "des feux d’artifice" means "several displays".
 
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée!

William Strahan · Answer

Bonjour Céline,

I'm still a little confused regarding the singular vs plural use of feu d'artifice. If I watch the fireworks that is obviously a plural event, as I'm sure I'm not watching a single firework but many and not all of the fireworks in the world, ergo some (des). Yes, the hint asks for the singular which is a bit strange given the English plural "fireworks", and as stated later the plural is used. The difference seems to rely on the hint given. There are plenty of exercises where the concept of "some" is implied because one is not eating, seeing, etc. the totality of the object in the world. for example: I eat soup (je mange de la soupe), I drink coffee (je bois du café), I see birds (je vois des oiseaux).