When you eat or drink an unmeasured amount of something, French puts a small word before the noun meaning "some": du before a masculine noun, de la before a feminine noun, de l' before a vowel, and des before a plural. You cannot leave it out.
Examples
- Je voudrais du café.
- I would like some coffee.
- Elle prend de la soupe.
- She's having some soup.
- Nous mangeons des frites.
- We're eating fries.
The mistake to avoid
After a negative, all these become de: "Je ne veux pas de café", never "pas du café".
Where this fits in
Food & ordering, French A1: Order at a café or restaurant, ask for the bill, and talk about basic food and drink.