Les/des

Question

In a B1 question,  "They collect antique cars"  was translated as "Ils collectionnent les voitures anciennes".  Why not "des voitures"?

Aurélie Drouard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Joakim !Aaaah l'éternelle question ;)Here we're talking about a general category of collected items: I collect stamps...If you said "Je collectionne des voitures anciennes", it would reduce the scope of items you're collecting = I collect some antique cars.I hope that's helpful!Bonne journée !

Aurélie Drouard · Answer

Bonjour Joakim !In the case of collection, you will use the more encompassing les, because collectors' purpose is never to collect just "some" of the items :)In general, the definite article will be less restrictive than the partitive, in that it refers to a whole category in a general manner:J'aime le chocolat.I love chocolate. -> the general category known as chocolate, comprising all subcategories of itJe mange du chocolat.I eat [some] chocolate. -> not all the chocolate that exists, but a restricted part of it!I hope that's a bit clearer :)Bonne journée !

Joakim Rosqvist · Answer

I think it is hard to understand the distinction because one can obviously only collect *some* cars no matter how you express it.