What is the difference between 'J'aimerais de nouvelles chaussures' and 'Jaimerais les nouvelles chaussures' ?

Articles always seem tricky in French, but with practice they are simple! In the first example the indefinite article 'des' is used - this means that the sentence is talking about new shoes in general. In contrast the second sentence uses 'les', the definite article, to describe the new shoes, showing that it is referring to specific new shoes. Imagine you are having a conversation about a pair of shoes you have seen in a shop window with your friend, and you want to say that you would love to buy those particular shoes. 

Note to remember: even though the shoes are plural, the first example is 'de' instead of 'des' because this is the rule when an adjective comes before the noun. If the person just wanted some shoes, they would say 'J'aimerais DES chaussures', but because the adjective 'nouvelles' precedes the noun here, you must use 'de'. 

SL
Answered by Shereen L. French tutor

3631 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Vous décrivez vos vacances pour votre blog


What is the difference between the COI and COD in French?


Vous êtes en vacances et vous envoyez une carte postale à votre ami. Dites où vous êtes, le temps qu’il fait, ce que vous avez fait et ce que vous avez l’intention de faire pendant le reste du séjour


When is the imperfect tense used and how do you form it?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning